Love Actually
by Jumpingbeans480
Summary: Kagome is pregnant. The father is unknown. Sasuke is a suspect. Sakura is suspicious. Kagome and Sasuke deny being involved. And how the hell does Kakashi fit into the equation again? You figure it out. KakashiKagomeItachi SasuSaku SasukeKagome On Hiatus
1. Prologue

Love Actually

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Prologue

Sakura Haruno couldn't help but frown as her eyes scanned her patient's medical results.

She forced herself to look away from the shocking report and instead diverted her attention to her patient, who happened to be sitting across from her desk right now. Her patient had her head down, and eyes were focused on the floor.

"Kagome…" Sakura began in a gentle tone.

Kagome winced when Sakura called her name and she wrung her hands in anxiety. She was still looking at the floor and did not respond when Sakura said her name. Her bangs were hiding her blue eyes but Sakura could see some tears dripping on to the floor. Sakura stood up and she made her way across to where Kagome was, and she kneeled down in front of the petite woman.

Sakura patted her shoulder reassuringly and tried to comfort her.

Kagome was a good friend of hers and Naruto, so Sakura had been rather surprised when she just turned up in Sakura's office one day asking Sakura to conduct some tests on her. Sakura had done what she was told; and seeing the results of those tests had made her frown. It was just so surprising for her.

Kagome didn't seem like the type of woman to do this kind of thing.

Kagome Higurashi was a petite woman with a small build. She was shorter than Sakura even though she was older than her; Kagome was roughly 25 this year. But Sakura could guess that men wouldn't care about a woman's height if she had the looks. And Kagome had the looks; she was a very beautiful woman. She had long raven black hair that reached to her waist, and her eyes were just…wow.

If a guy stared into them, they would be lost in those misty blue depths.

For a period of time, Sakura had been envious of Kagome's good looks and seemingly impossible grace, but all those feelings had disappeared now. After all, Sakura had managed to make Sasuke Uchiha fall in love with her enough to ask for her hand in marriage.

And only just recently, Sakura Haruno became Sakura Uchiha.

She was a happily married woman, at the age of 20 while Kagome was still single and not in any relationships, at least from what Sakura could tell. But Kagome must have been in a relationship, it must have been secret too, otherwise why would Kagome come into Sakura's office out of the blue one day asking her pink haired medical friend to conduct a pregnancy test for her?

And the results came back… positive.

Sakura stroked Kagome's back in a soothing fashion, trying to calm her friend down and she looked like a mother calming down a distressed child. Sakura tried to shush her friend, and even whispered softly "Kagome, calm down. It's okay. Everything's going to be all right…"

Kagome looked up slightly and her blue eyes met Sakura's. "I'm pregnant, aren't I Sakura?" her voice cracked as she asked this.

Sakura nodded slowly and Kagome looked down at the floor again, more tears coming out from her eyes. She smiled wryly as she whispered "I thought as much. I felt another aura coming from my body, and I missed my menstrual cycle for two months."

Sakura patted her friend's shoulder "It'll be all right Kagome. Naruto, Sasuke and I are going to be there for you."

"How far up am I Sakura?" asked Kagome. Sakura frowned and she tried to remember the results. "Hmm…You're about 2 ½ months pregnant. Kagome," said Sakura, and she eyed her friend carefully, before adding in a gentle tone "You know if you don't want to keep the child you can have an abortion. It's not too late for your case." Sakura's nose wrinkled as she said the word abortion.

She found the whole process totally cruel and all, but if Kagome wanted to have an abortion, then Sakura would be there to support her friend, not shoot her down.

Kagome shook her head and she placed her hand on her belly "No thank you Sakura. I'm actually very…happy… that I'm pregnant with his child……But I don't know how I am supposed to earn enough to support it and take care of it. I barely earn enough as it is and if I know I won't have the time to take care of it. I will have to work for the entire day just to have enough money to pay for all of its stuff."

Sakura's brow creased in worry for her friend, but she said "Sasuke, Naruto and I can lend you some money. You can slowly pay us back."

"No, please Sakura, you mustn't tell Naruto or Sasuke. Just do anything to keep them in the dark for now. I don't want to tell them so soon. If you did tell them then they would surely want to help me, Sasuke especially. And I could never ask that of you guys Sakura," Kagome said gently, her voice slight pleading.

"Then what about your child's father? You can get him to help you. You can get him to marry you and take responsibility for his actions," Sakura told Kagome, but her raven haired friend shook her head and smiled sadly. "The father doesn't know. And I'm not sure whether I should tell him. You see…we were drunk when we did it, and I left before he woke up. So I'm sure he doesn't remember that we ever did it, or he would have apologised or try to make it up to me."

"Then you should tell him Kagome," Sakura urged her friend.

"I can't tell him…" Kagome's voice trailed off and she looked away, sighing softly. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows "Why not?" she asked. A light blush appeared on Kagome's cheeks and she mumbled out "Our age difference is a little far apart."

"Does age really matter to you Kagome? Don't you love him?" Sakura asked in confusion, shaking her head.

Kagome's blue eyes became alert and she snapped out of her trance. "Excuse me?" she asked. Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes and repeated her question. "Don't you love him? Your child's father?" A tranquil smile lit on Kagome's face and a light blush appeared on her cheeks. "…Yes I love him…Very much so," she replied in a gentle tone, the sad smile back in place.

"And does he love you?" Sakura asked.

Kagome was silent for a moment as she contemplated on her answer. She was dead certain that she fell in love with him when she was a young woman, and that her feelings for him were still as strong as ever even after so many years.

But whether he loved her?

Even though he didn't ever profess his feelings to her, ever told her that he loved her, all the little things that he did for her meant all the world to Kagome. She searched through her memories about the times she spent with him and she remembered the happy twinkle in his eyes every time he laid his eyes on her. She remembered how gently and sweetly he behaved with her, how he would say her name lovingly with an emotion that Kagome identified as lust.

She remembered the times he kissed her and held her, how he would flirt with her despite them being surrounded by their friends.

She remembered the times he celebrated her birthday and the holidays with her, giving her presents and flowers. And she treasured the moment when he said that he would protect her forever. So yes, Kagome was certain that he loved her as much as she loved him.

"He does love me," she replied with a fond smile.

"If you love him and he loves you, then what's stopping you?" Sakura asked in an impatient tone. The sad smile was still on Kagome's face as she spoke "He's always so distant to everyone, including me. And I've known him for a very long time, ever since I was little. I think he doesn't believe that he deserves a happy ending, no matter how much I try and convince him. He's got so much guilt and regret building in him that I know one day he's going to crack."

Kagome looked at her friend and smiled wryly "He's got so much baggage in his heart already and I don't want to add anymore burdens to him. I don't want to force him to make a choice about me and our child. And…he's already taken…" Kagome's eyes were distant as she said this.

Sakura placed her hand on Kagome's shoulder and she looked at her friend, pain filled in her green eyes.

She knew that Kagome was the kind of woman that always put the feelings of her friends over her own, but Sakura didn't know that Kagome would readily raise her own child and not want to burden the father even though she loved him. That she would raise her child herself and not come between the child's father and the woman that Sakura believed was his wife.

"Sakura, could you promise me something? As a friend?" Kagome's soft voice rang out.

Sakura immediately nodded "Ask me anything you want Kagome," she told the raven haired beauty. She was determined to do everything she could do to help her long time friend. "Could you keep this meeting today a secret? I don't want the whole of Konoha to find out so soon," she said with a sigh.

Sakura rolled her eyes "Well they're going to find out soon Kagome. After a few more months you're going to swell up like a watermelon," she said with a weak smile. Kagome placed her hand on her stomach and she smiled slightly "I know I am going to get big in a matter of months. But if keeping quiet about it for a while means a few more months of peace before the whole of Konoha starts shooting their mouths off about exactly how I got pregnant and who was the man who did it with me, then I'm keeping quiet forever," she added wryly.

"Kagome, you know that some people in Konoha won't accept the idea of an unwed mother," Sakura said as gently as she could, and she could already imagine the people belittling her raven haired friend; always talking behind her back and pointing fingers at her.

Her blood boiled at the thought.

"Well, they're going to have to kiss my ass because I don't really give a damn about what they think," Kagome said with a shrug and Sakura looked at her friend, her green eyes wide in surprise.

Kagome never swore.

Even if she was angry or even when she was sad, she never swore. She would just cry her heart out and afterwards feel better. So hearing Kagome swear now was rather unusual for Sakura. Kagome seemed to notice her friend's surprise because she responded calmly "Mood swings…"

"Ah…" replied Sakura, as if that explained everything.

End Prologue

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Jumpingbeans480: I know I shouldn't be creating new stories and that I should be fousing on my current ones like 'Tale of A Miko Kunoichi' and 'A New Leaf' but this is an exception.

My BFF 'Dreams of the future' challenged me to write a SasuSaku fic and I just had to do it for her, but writing Naruto fanfics without Kagome didn't seem right to me. It seemed weird and boring. So I added a little twist of my own. The pairing is still SasuSaku and Kagome/? and just reading the above makes you wonder who the father is already right?

I bet some of you can already guess and I bet some of you haven't figured it out yet. But don't worry, the father will be revealed in time. I hope you have some happy reading!

Please review!


	2. Chapter 1

Love Actually

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 1

Sakura returned home to her apartment late in the night on that very same day, with many thoughts running through her head.

She still found it hard to believe that Kagome, her friend Kagome Higurashi, out of all people, would be pregnant. And also that Kagome had sex with a man who was already taken! Sakura really found it hard to believe that this was still the innocent petite woman that she knew.

Her fists clenched unconsciously as she thought about the child's father.

Grrr, the father… Sakura's blood boiled at the thought. If Sakura ever found out who was the bastard man that impregnated Kagome, she would hunt him down, castrate him, and beat him into a bloody pulp. She would break all his bones, snap his neck, she would torture him and break his spine. She would make him a pathetic cripple and personally kick him out of Konoha! She would send him to the deepest depths of hell and she was even willing to punch him all the way to Sunagakure!

She wanted to see him suffer for what he did to her friend…

Whoa, Sakura paused for a minute and shuddered slightly. She had sounded seriously scary back then that she scared herself. Sometimes Sakura wondered if her temper was as sadistic as Orochimaru. Or maybe her temper was exactly the same as Tsunade's and she didn't know it yet. Sakura had never seen this side of Tsunade before so she could only guess.

Sakura made it to the door of her apartment and she fumbled through her purse, searching for her keys.

A satisfied smile appeared on her lips as she pulled out her key and inserted it into the lock. The door opened with a click and Sakura stepped into her apartment, kicking the door shut. She sighed tiredly and a familiar scent hit her nose.

'_Sasuke's scent,_' Sakura thought with a smile.

She could hear and sense someone in the bedroom, and she knew it was her husband. He must have returned from his latest mission. She dropped her purse on the couch and kicked off her shoes. Then she made her way to the bedroom. The sight that greeted her there warmed Sakura's heart to bits.

Sasuke was sprawled on his side of the bed, fast asleep.

He wasn't wearing a shirt as he continued to sleep, so Sakura suppressed a shiver that ran up her spine when his pale but well toned chest seemed to have an ethereal glow in the moonlight. Sasuke still had that type of effect on her even after all these years… There was also an almost heartbreakingly peaceful look on Sasuke as he slept. He didn't look angry, or guilty or revengeful or even so much as sad like he did in the day time.

He looked just… peaceful.

Sakura didn't want to disturb him, so she quietly snuck past him and made her way towards the bathroom, where she unbuttoned her shirt and slipped out of her skirt. Then she put on a pair of shorts and a tank top, and thus Sakura was ready for bed. She yawned tiredly and she got out of the bathroom and gently climbed onto bed, so as not to wake Sasuke.

Then she wrapped her arms gently around his waist and closed her eyes, soon falling asleep; the day's events finally catching up to her.

* * *

Sakura awoke to the feeling of warmth pressed against her. There was something warm breathing down her neck and there was even a pair of muscular arms wrapped around her waist. That most definitely had to be Sasuke. Sakura smiled at the thought. Yesterday she had fallen asleep with her arms wrapped around him, and now in the morning it seems their positions were reversed.

She couldn't help but wonder what happened when they were asleep.

Ah, never mind that, she shook her head as she pushed the though aside. She had to get up, get dressed, make breakfast and go to work or else Tsunade would give her hell for being late or skipping work when the hospital was understaffed.

But alas, fate was cruel!

As she attempted to get up, the pair of arms wound tighter around her waist. Sakura rolled her eyes and she blew away a couple of stray pink locks from her face. Then with a determined look, she tried to gently get out of Sasuke's grip.

But the end result was Sasuke growling in annoyance and pulling her closer.

He buried himself in the mess of her hair and mumbled huskily "Don't you dare even thinking of leaving me alone at home." Sakura tried not to smile at her husband's possessiveness. "Come on Sasuke," she said, trying to be as seductive as possible "I have to get to work."

Sasuke's reply was "Screw work."

Sakura shook her head and when she took a look at the time, all traces of playfulness disappeared from her tone "Sasuke Uchiha. As your wife I command you to unhand me now or else I will break your arms," she told him sternly.

"And Sakura Uchiha, as your husband I forbid you to go to work. I command you to spend today with me," he replied dryly.

Sakura rolled her eyes in annoyance and she channelled her chakra to her fists. Within the next few minutes, Sakura had already brushed her teeth and she was getting dressed while Sasuke was glaring holes in her back. "Don't look at me like that Sasuke. I take my work very seriously and you know that," she informed him as she put on her nurse's outfit.

"Tch," Sasuke muttered before he himself got out of bed. Then he changed into civilian clothing and headed for the bathroom.

Sakura headed for the kitchen to make breakfast. As she was frying some eggs, Sasuke came into the kitchen and sat down. After a while the eggs were done and Sakura placed them on a plate. She handed Sasuke his breakfast and sat down to eat hers. Sakura smiled at her husband but his annoyed glare told her that he was still mad at her.

Men could be so petty sometimes.

"So Sasuke, while I'm at the hospital what are you going to do at home?" she asked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence. Sasuke took a look at her and sighed, replying "I'm not staying at home. I'm going out and maybe I'll be having a few drinks with the dobe." Sakura nodded and took a bite out of her bacon, but when her eyes landed on the time, she cursed.

"Damn it I'll be late!" She quickly stood up and gave Sasuke a quick peck on his cheek, before she left the house.

Sasuke stared at his breakfast for a bit before he pushed it aside. He sighed deeply and got up, and then he made his way to the door. He was sure to lock the door as he left that empty apartment. It was rather lonesome in there, Sasuke had to admit, but he wouldn't tell Sakura that.

He didn't want to show that weak side of him to his wife of all people.

And Sasuke couldn't help but think that he and Sakura never acted much like husband and wife. They both led busy lives so they rarely spent time with each other; Sakura was one of the top healers in Konoha while Sasuke was one of the best Jounin Konoha had to offer.

Ever since they got married, sex was far and between. Heck, Sasuke was sure that even Naruto had more sex with Hinata than he had with Sakura. Sasuke wondered if they could be really considered as husband and wife because of that. When they were young, Sakura chased after Sasuke like an insane fan girl, and in the few years that he didn't see her, she had matured and that crush she had on him was gone. When he returned to Konoha, his feelings for her were ignited again and he found himself falling in love with her again.

That was why he chose to make her his wife.

But now…she rarely had any intimate contact with him and she sometimes could be cold with him. Sasuke had to wonder if Sakura really loved him at all; whether he was first place in her heart. Sasuke was sure that the first thing in Sakura's heart would be her job.

He sighed again and his eyes wandered around the quiet streets of Konoha in the morning.

There were not much people walking around and Sasuke was sure that Naruto was still at home, sleeping like a pig. Heck, Sasuke might be the only one of his male friends who was awake this early. So there was no one who could accompany him for a drink huh?

Sasuke passed by an alley but he stopped and turned to stare when he noticed someone was throwing up in the alley.

'_Must be a drunk,_' he found himself thinking, and was ready to walk off when he heard the person throwing up mutter "Damn it…" That voice… Sasuke stared at the person throwing up more closely and he noticed a feminine shape with long black hair.

'_It couldn't be Kagome…Could it…?_' he wondered.

"Kagome is that you?" Sasuke found himself asking, and the figure who was throwing up froze. She turned to face him, and like Sasuke had guessed, it was indeed Kagome. She opened her mouth to speak "Sa-?!" but was cut off when she looked away and puked again. Sasuke rushed to her side and patted her back soothingly.

"Are you all right Kagome?" he asked in a concerned tone.

Sasuke was trying to figure out why she was throwing up. He didn't smell any alcohol on her, so she wasn't drunk. Then why was she throwing up? Maybe she ate something bad, and so she was throwing up? Ah, first things first, Sasuke had to get her to a doctor.

"Come on, let's get you to a doctor," he told her after she had finally stopped puking.

Kagome shook her head and replied kindly "I'm fine Sasuke. I don't need a doctor." And she stood up, but Sasuke interrupted "Don't need a doctor? Kagome you were throwing up like there was no tomorrow. And you're not drunk or anything, so it must have been something you ate. Come on, let's face it, you need a doctor."

But Kagome shook her head "I told you I didn't need a doctor Sasuke. This is normal."

Sasuke frowned "What do you mean normal?" Kagome froze for a moment and the next she smiled "It's nothing," she told him, trying to get him off her case. She couldn't let him find out! She absolutely couldn't let him find out! If Sasuke knew… let's say it would cause all sorts of hell in her life. She didn't want him to help her because he felt like he owed her something; he had a wife to take care of already, and Kagome didn't want to trouble him.

"Kagome…" Sasuke began carefully as he noted her expression "You're not pregnant, are you?"

Kagome froze and she held her head down. Sasuke sighed deeply and muttered "I thought as much." Then he said in a gentler tone "Kagome I want you to know that if you need any help you can always come to me. I'll be glad to help you."

"I don't need your help Sasuke. You have a wife to support already and I'll be perfectly fine on my own. Just let me raise my child using my own devices. I can't depend on you guys to help me for the rest of my pregnancy. And I can't expect you guys to help me take care of my child after I give birth. Just let me work everything out on my own. And Sasuke, I don't want you to think that you owe me anything. Because in fact, you don't. So I don't expect you to pay me back or anything," Kagome informed him gently.

"But I…… and you were…?" Sasuke began, but Kagome cut him off "Yes, and what's past is past. I don't blame you Sasuke. You weren't yourself," she told him sadly.

Sasuke shook his head "Just let me help you Kagome. I want to, please?" he asked her, and Kagome's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Did THE Sasuke Uchiha just plead with her? Surely she was only hearing things right? But when she looked into Sasuke's eyes, Kagome knew she was not.

"Fine then," she said with a sigh "Just don't expect me to make things easy for you."

End chapter

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Thank you darkangel0212, hieikag, SakuraBlossom24, Kimi of the West, neko-no-kitsune, Aoko-Rosetta, Dreams of the Future, Lovelywitch, sesshoumarucrazy, Azalie-Kauriu, Saphire Moon Maiden, Bloodcherry, PiratekitAG, Kage Hasu and kinky-kitsune for reviewing!

Sorry for not updating so long! I have exams!

Heh heh, so, this chapter also has quite an amount of unanswered questions, like 'What was Sasuke going to say to her before she cut him off?' and is he really the father of her child and is he taking care of her because he wants to be responsible for his actions?

I'll leave you to decide for yourselves!

And don't worry, I think by the time this story is finished, every unanswered question in this story will be answered, but if not, then you just have to simply send me a PM and I will be happy to give you an explanation.

Just don't expect me to give you spoilers for what's going to happen in the later chapters!

And the next chapter is taking place a few months later all right, when Kagome is like 7 months pregnant. So by then everybody will already know that she is pregnant because of her stomch size but they don't know who the father is too.

Please review!


	3. Chapter 2

Love Actually

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 2

Sakura stifled a yawn as she stretched in her chair. Man, today had been tiring for her. She had been seeing patients all through the morning that she didn't even get to eat lunch. What's worse; yesterday she was up until early in the morning reading up on her patients' medical reports. So she was extremely tired.

Sigh…how Sakura longed for a nice long nap…

She closed her eyes and put her head on the desk, ready to sleep during her lunch break, but someone slammed their hands on the table and made Sakura bolt right up with a small yelp. She blinked sleepily for a few moments before glaring at the intruder.

"Pig," was the first word that escaped her mouth.

Ino rolled her eyes at her nickname and replied curtly "Forehead." Sakura sighed deeply and placed her head on the desk again. "Go away Pig. It's my lunch break and I want to catch some shut eye or I'm seriously going to die from exhaustion!" she moaned.

"Nonsense Sakura," her blonde haired friend waved impatiently.

"Come on," Ino yelled, and she proceeded to pull her friend up. Sakura struggled free but Ino refused to let go. She even dragged Sakura out of her office and out of the hospital. "Pig, where are we going?" Sakura moaned again.

"We're going to have some lunch together. I have something I need to tell you later," was Ino's reply.

Half an hour later the two Kunoichi were sitting in a restaurant and Sakura was wolfing down her food like she hadn't eaten in days. Ino cringed at her friend's table manners but she said nothing and just nibbled at the corners of her salad. Halfway through their lunch together, Ino decided to speak up. "Sakura," she began in a serious tone, and her pink haired friend raised her brow. Ino was being serious and not calling her by her nickname; that was strange…

"There's a rumour going around Konoha and I wondered if you knew about it." Sakura frowned "What rumour?" she asked. Ino leaned in closer and whispered so softly that Sakura was barely able to catch it "A rumour about your husband Sasuke."

Sakura's expression grew serious and her frown deepened "Talk Ino."

Her blonde friend nodded "There's this rumour going around Konoha for quite some time about Sasuke. The villagers, both Ninja and civilian alike know about it and they refer to it as the scandal of the century or something. Apparently they're all convinced that Sasuke is cheating on you."

Sakura suppressed a giggle and Ino looked at a friend in confusion.

"Scandal of the century? And Sasuke cheating on me? Have these villagers all gone wacko? And how come I've never heard of this rumour before Ino? I happen to work at the hospital, and the news there travels fast," Sakura said with a flick of her hand to emphasize her point.

"Well then I'm pretty sure that no one in their right mind will want to tell you Sakura. Your temper is just too frightening for them," Ino said with a grim smile.

Sakura rolled her eyes "Please Ino, there is no way that Sasuke could be cheating on me. He loves me Ino. Would he have married me if he didn't? There were way better girls than me back then Ino and yet he chose me. So what does this say?" she asked.

Ino sighed "People tend to change Sakura, and Sasuke is no exception."

Sakura clenched her fists and she sent a glare at her friend "Why are you so sure that Sasuke is cheating on me Ino?" The blonde returned her glare evenly "Then why are you so sure that Sasuke is not cheating on you Sakura?"

"I've never detected an unknown scent on his clothes before," was Sakura's reply.

Ino's glare softened at her friend's statement, and she looked at Sakura with a certain sadness now that made the medic uncomfortable. "Sasuke is cheating on you Sakura; I can assure you that I've seen act them all lovey-dovey in public. Heck I have never seen Sasuke with that kind of gentle look on his face before, not even with you when you're out in public! But when he's with her he's all kind and considerate and he smiles Sakura. He _actually_ smiles!" the blonde snapped.

"But he can't be cheating on me," Sakura insisted.

Ino sighed and looked at her friend with a sympathetic smile. "I'm afraid he is. And what happens if Sasuke is cheating on with you a woman you both know?" she asked, and this statement caused Sakura's green eyes to widen in shock. "If the other woman was a woman you both know, then there's no unknown scent on his clothes."

Sakura was losing her confidence now.

And she was sorely tempted to cry. But…Sasuke was her husband. This was her husband they were discussing about now! They were discussing about his faith to his wife. So as his wife, shouldn't the least Sakura could do was to trust him? She was his wife; she knew him the best, and she knew that he would never to do this to her. Sakura looked at Ino with a new determination in her eyes.

"Ino," she began in a determined voice "I trust Sasuke."

Ino looked at her friend with disbelief and she growled "Gods Sakura you're so damned stubborn!" but when she realized she was losing her cool, she took several deep calming breaths. Once she got her temper under control again, she talked to Sakura again. "Listen Sakura, there is no way that I would go up to you and make baseless accusations." Then she was silent for a moment before she pondered on her next words. "…Look I didn't want to be the one to tell you Sakura, but there is also something else you should know."

Ino sighed and whispered "That woman that Sasuke's with…She's pregnant."

Sakura found her jaw dropping in shock. "A-and the father is…?" Sakura found herself stuttering out. Ino shook her head "No one knows who the father is. She didn't say; but it's pretty obvious that Sasuke is the father. No offence Sakura. Otherwise why is he still clinging on to her?"

Sakura cringed at the word clinging. She could not picture Sasuke clinging on to some unknown woman with a dazed look on his face, she just couldn't.

Ino sighed, recognizing the look of denial on Sakura's face. She couldn't blame her friend for behaving like this. One moment she had thought that her life was perfect with a perfect husband, only to have it fall apart in the next hour with the news that her husband was cheating on her. Ino looked away to give Sakura some quiet time to think about what she was going to do now, only to see something that she know would destroy Sakura outside of the restaurant.

Her jaw dropped in shock and she cursed "Oh damn."

This little word caused Sakura to snap out of her thoughts. She noticed Ino staring at something outside of the restaurant, and she couldn't help but look. Sakura found tears gathering in her eyes when she saw Sasuke opposite the restaurant they were at; he was in a shop that was selling baby merchandise.

He was slightly smiling as his eyes scanned through the baby clothes.

Then before Sakura knew it; he had pocked out one outfit that had caught his eye and he opened his mouth, calling for somebody. A woman with long black hair appeared and Sakura found herself asking "Is that her Ino? The other woman?"

Ino sighed and nodded "Yeah."

Tears started to fall from Sakura's green eyes as she saw Sasuke holding the outfit in front of the woman's pregnant stomach with a gentle smile on his face. And she growled in irritation because she couldn't see the woman's face because she had her back facing Sakura.

"Do you want me to go over there and kill him for you Sakura?" Ino asked in a concerned tone.

Sakura shook her head, the tears still continuing to fall. Surprisingly when she saw Sasuke with that woman, she didn't feel the slightest bit angry. She just felt a suffocating feeling in her chest and also that her heart was also being broken into millions of pieces.

She was heartbroken and not angry.

How could she be angry at him when Sasuke had that gentle smile on his face? She had never seen him smile like that in public before. And he rarely smiled like to her. Usually he would smirk but not smile like this. He looked truly happy that Sakura couldn't help but wonder if she was considered 'the other woman' even though they were married because of Sasuke's apparent happiness. She couldn't bring herself to look away even though her mind warned her to. She wanted to see would happen next even though it hurt her to see Sasuke like that with another woman.

Yes she was a masochist wasn't she?

Sakura's heart gave another painful squeeze when saw Sasuke's eyes light up as the woman spoke to him. And the next moment he smiled again and hugged the woman gently, even whispering something in her ear.

Sakura finally looked away; she couldn't bear to see anymore.

Ino looked at her friend in concern and she asked "Are you going to be all right Sakura?" Her pink haired friend only shook her head "I need some quiet time to think Ino. Do you think you can go back to the hospital and tell Shishou?"

Ino smiled sadly "No problem."

Then she stood up to leave. As she took a few steps for the door, Sakura's voice sounded out again. "By the way Ino, do you mind telling me who the other woman is?" Ino shook her head "Trust me Sakura, you don't want to know."

"You said that the woman was someone we both know. So who is it?"

Ino hesitated "You sure you want to know Sakura? I mean if I tell you, you might get angry and who knows, you might go and confront her and you might even make her lose the baby. I don't think Sasuke would ever forgive you for that." Sakura rolled her eyes and snapped impatiently "Just tell me Ino!"

"All right then. She's Kagome Higurashi."

End chapter

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Thank you KarasuKimi, Kage Hasu, Serenity digo19, Bloodcherry, Dreams of future, kinky-kitsune, LeafeKnight7 and greenbluered for reviewing!

So... Dum dum dum!! (Plays dramatic music in the background) Sakura finds out!! What will she do next? Kill Sasuke? Or just simply run away? Find out in the next chapter then!

And Dreams of the future pointed out that the chapters from this story are shorter than my other stories. Well Jo, it's my first time writing a SasuSaku fic and not to mention a mystery/romance fic. So cut me some slack. XD

Please review!


	4. Chapter 3

Love Actually

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 3

Sakura went numb after she heard the name Kagome Higurashi.

She turned her attention back to the baby shop opposite the restaurant, staring intently at Sasuke and the woman who was supposedly Kagome with a blank look on her face. Ino shook her head sadly before she left the restaurant, whispering "I told you, you wouldn't like it…Remember to keep your temper under control."

Sakura didn't hear her and she just continued to watch them.

Ino's words were ringing in her head and she was slowly trying to piece all the missing pieces of the puzzle together. Kagome had given her very little clues about who the father of her child was, and yet those clues had been screaming an obvious answer to Sakura.

Firstly, Kagome didn't want to tell Sasuke about her pregnancy.

Then their age difference was also a little far apart; Kagome was 5 years older than him. And by the way Sasuke acted around Kagome in that shop, it seemed to Sakura like he did love the raven haired woman as she had said. Then Sasuke was distant to everyone including Sakura on several occasions. And from what Sakura knew about Kagome's past with Sasuke; Kagome had known Sasuke ever since he was born because she had been a close friend of Itachi's then.

Sakura also knew about the guilt and burdens in Sasuke's heart; sometimes he had woken up in the middle of the night screaming and sweating profusely because of his nightmares.

After several nightmares, Sakura had managed to make him tell her; Sasuke had confessed that he had felt so guilty about Itachi's death and horrible for treating his brother that badly before he knew the truth about the Uchiha Massacre. Sasuke had looked so broken then when he confessed to Sakura that she had just simply hugged him and silently gave him her support. But she had known that it would take a very long time to heal those emotional scars that Sasuke was feeling; and if she let him heal on his own, Sasuke would crack.

But anyway…the last clue that Kagome had given her; that Sasuke was already taken. Sakura was married to him for god's sake, surely that counted as taken…

'_Kagome is my friend. I trusted her. And yet she is the one that Sasuke is cheating on me with?_' Sakura found herself thinking with utter disbelief. She felt like she had been played for a fool. She felt upset and also betrayed, because the two of them were close to her, and yet they still had an affair in the dark.

Sakura looked at Sasuke and Kagome's from across the restaurant, and she couldn't help but think how perfect the two of them looked together, unlike her with Sasuke. Kagome was a beautiful woman with impossible grace, while Sakura was a violent tomboy that could cause fissures in the ground. Kagome also obviously won Sakura in _that_ department as well. Kagome also looked better with Sasuke than her; Sakura stood out because of her bubblegum pink hair.

(AN: Sakura is having a major inferiority complex right now because she is very upset that it was Kagome who was the other woman. I mean Kagome was her good friend, and just knowing that her husband is cheating on her with her friend, it's kind of like a slap in the face.)

Kagome was really much better than her; so Sakura couldn't blame Sasuke for choosing Kagome over her.

But why did he have to have an affair after the two of them were married? Why did he even choose her in the first place? Did he even love her to begin with? Was he just messing with her? He could have chosen Kagome back then instead of her and that would have saved Sakura the pain; the pain of falling in love with him all over again.

Her love for Sasuke wasn't just some school girl crush anymore. She really loved him from the bottom of her heart.

Sakura was aware of the tears that were cascading down her flushed cheeks, and when she looked at how happy Sasuke and Kagome looked without her, she choked back a sob and quickly stood up. She slammed her money on the table before she fled the restaurant, with the sole intention of going home to cry her heart out. She didn't want everyone to see her crying, looking so weak in public, so the best place for her to return to was home. Also, if Sasuke came back, she could speak with him and learn more about the matter.

And if they end up fighting, then it would be all right because they were fighting at home and not out in public.

Sakura left the restaurant and she quickly walked towards the direction of their house. She hoped that Sasuke wouldn't see her but unfortunately luck wasn't on her side today. Sasuke took one look in the crowd because he sensed a familiar chakra signal and he instantly recognized a mass of pink hair disappear behind a corner.

"Oh shit," he muttered, roughly guessing how much Sakura had seen.

He had known about the rumours in Konoha about him and Kagome for some time now and frankly he didn't care much. If the people wanted to see it that way then let them see it that way. Their lack of faith in the two of them showed that they did not trust him to not cheat on Sakura and also to Kagome to not backstab her friend. They didn't trust them much even though the two of them had already spent 4 years back in Konoha. Sasuke had already served his punishment; he was still a bit of a traitor in their eyes for running off to Orochimaru.

Sasuke sighed deeply which made Kagome look at him, her eyebrow raised in curiosity "Hmm, is something the matter Sasuke?" she asked.

Sasuke shook his head and a faint smile traced his lips; a smile that he only reserved for her. "No it's nothing," he told her gently. Kagome looked at him with a doubtful expression on her face for a moment before she shrugged and turned back to choosing more baby clothes.

"You know if you have to go, you can go," Kagome mumbled after a while as she inspected the clothes.

Sasuke cocked his head to the side, wondering how she deduced that so fast. Kagome smiled mysteriously before she continued "I just happen to know you very well. And as I was saying, you can go if you have to. You don't have to stick by my side all day like super glue. I'm not a disabled person and I'm perfectly fine of taking care of myself. People might think you're my stalker or something by how much time you spend with me everyday. And you're supposed to be married to Sakura."

Sasuke thought dully '_You have no idea what they think about us._'

And it was true, Kagome didn't have a clue about the rumours concerning her and Sasuke and the relationship they share. The raven haired man didn't want to tell her because he was wary that it might affect the condition of her baby. And also, he did not want to have to be caretaker of a homicidally angry Kagome.

Sasuke cringed at the thought. A pregnant Kagome was just scary, but an _angry_ pregnant Kagome was the end of the world, in his opinion.

Kagome cocked her head to the side in a cute manner when she noticed that Sasuke's skin had taken a pale tinge. She wanted to ask him what was wrong, but she held her tongue about that and instead pushed him out of the shop. Sasuke stared at her in a confused manner and Kagome dusted her hands in a dramatic manner.

"Well go on already! If you have something you need to do then do it! Don't let me hold you up!" she chided before waving cheerfully.

Sasuke forced a pained smile on his face before he turned around and started to head home. Why did Kagome have to chase him away so early? Sasuke knew his wife very well; and he could guess that if he were to go home right now, there was a high possibility that he would be getting a one way first-class trip of pain to Suna, courtesy of Sakura's strength.

But he did have to go back and explain things to her…

So with a resigned sigh, Sasuke headed home, with a bad feeling in his gut. He entered their apartment and slowly made his way up the stairs, and when he reached outside their door, he paused and listened for any noises coming inside. He heard some slight sniffling and knew that she was crying again. Sasuke searched his pockets for his keys and he inserted it into the lock. The door made a small clicking sound before it came unlocked.

Sasuke pushed it open and stepped inside.

He could see Sakura's silhouette slumped against the dark corner and she was hugging her knees tightly. Her eyes were staring blankly at the floor and there were tear streaks on her face. Now there were a million things that Sasuke could have said to her then to try and make her understand, and yet he chose the least wise choice.

"Tadaima," he said curtly. Yes…Sasuke was seriously digging his own grave…

* * *

Thank you PiratekitAG, Reads-way-2-much, lilpup27, Bloodcherry, kinky-kitsune, Akki Girl, LeafeKnight7, Serenity digo19, Dreams of the future, LuLuCrazeD, Passing-Glance, KarasuKimi, Kage Hasu and XXmistressdeathXX for reviewing!

Well there's not much to say in this chapter.

Just that all the clues Kagome's given Sakura about who the father is all links to Sasuke right? So you all must be thinking that he's the father. Hmm, I think I'm going to surprise you all with ending of this story. You'll see! XD

Only a few people know who the father is…

Well Jo now I'm determined to finish this story before the holidays end! That way my mind will be focused in my other three stories! I'm sad to say that Aishiteru has made no progress at all… I literally meant it that I'm brain dead after finishing that Itachi/Kagome two-shot. I've got no more inspiration for any new one-shots… Damn it…

Ah and before I forget, here's an important note. Now some of you loyal readers guess that the father is Asuma or Itachi and I always forget to put that they're already dead. This story is set 4 years in the future and it becomes AU the moment Sasuke helps Naruto defeat Madara. So all the deaths before the battle in Konoha will not be changed. That means Jiraiya, Itachi, Asuma, Deidara and countless others will still be dead… T_T

Please review!


	5. Chapter 4

Love Actually

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 4

When Sakura disappeared behind the street corner, she had tried hard not to be seen by Sasuke. But is seems that fate really hated her that day because she could feel Sasuke's piercing gaze on her and she knew that he had seen her.

'_Now I'm sure Sasuke knows that I know the truth about him and Kagome,_' Sakura thought helplessly as she ran all the way home.

She entered their apartment and was sure to lock the doors even though she knew Sasuke had the keys. '_Maybe I want to delay him from telling me the truth,_' she thought with a grim smile. Sakura made her way to the corner of their apartment and she sat down with her back against the wall.

Then she wrapped her arms around her knees and cried until she could summon no more tears.

Roughly half an hour later, she heard some noises coming form outside the door and she also heard the jangle of keys. '_Sasuke's home,_' she thought sadly before she used her sleeve to rub away the trails of tears from her face. Soon, the door clicked open and Sasuke stepped inside. Sakura didn't want to meet her gaze and she expectantly waited for him to say something. What Sasuke said next totally surprised her to the core.

"Tadaima," Sasuke said as a matter-of-factly, and Sakura immediately felt the irritation and anger bubbling inside of her.

"Tadaima?!" she started to yell, the stress and pain of her husband cheating on her finally getting to her "I see you cheating on me and the only thing you can say to me is Tadaima?! No explanation for this afternoon? Like maybe 'Sakura what you saw today, it's not what it looked like,' or 'Kagome and I are just friends, the rumours were wrong and today she asked me to help her shop for her baby clothes. The hug I gave her meant nothing.' No reason like that? Just a Tadaima?!"

Sasuke stared at her before he stated "Calm down Sakura."

She stared at him in shock for a moment before an angry look appeared on her face "Calm down? Calm down! I'll calm down when I fucking want to calm down Sasuke Uchiha!!!" She held up her fist and shook it angrily at him "How dare you cheat on me!!" she yelled.

Sasuke sighed and muttered "I figured as much you would say that…" before he looked intently into her eyes. "I'm not cheating on you Sakura. My heart only belongs to you."

She scoffed "Yeah right. Save your corny words for someone else Sasuke; as if I could believe you after what I saw today… The whole of Konoha knows about you and Kagome and there are so many rumours about you! I really feel like such an idiot for trusting you and Kagome like that! I mean she was my friend and you are my husband; but who knew that you were humping each other in the dark!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her statement but he refrained from snapping at her. The last thing he wanted to do now was to make matters worse. He took a deep breath before he spoke. "Sakura, trust me, I am _not_ cheating on you. This is all just a misunderstanding."

Sakura raised her brow in disbelief "Misunderstanding?"

Sasuke nodded solemnly and he blinked when Sakura laughed in disbelief "Misunderstanding?! I saw you two shopping together in public Sasuke! I also saw you hugging her on your own free will in public while you whispered sweet nothings into her ear! Is that what you call misunderstanding?!" Sasuke resisted the urge to sigh in frustration. Sakura could be really stubborn when she wanted to; which only meant that it would be a pain in to ass to him because he would have to explain doubly hard to make her understand.

"Kagome and I are just friends," Sasuke tried again.

"Oh yeah…I've seen how friendly you two were; you couldn't keep your hands off her…" Sakura mumbled under her breath. Sasuke's eye twitched in frustration at her words. He was definitely going to snap soon if Sakura kept pissing him off…

"Would you rather believe the rumours than the words of your own husband Sakura?" Sasuke asked her, his voice slightly raised.

She narrowed her eyes "I will only believe what I have seen with my own eyes Sasuke. And trust me… I've seen how lovey-dovey you two were that afternoon. That is enough proof for me. The rumours and what Ino told me are an added bonus," she said icily.

Sasuke sighed softly and muttered "Ino…why am I not surprised? I should have known she couldn't keep her big mouth shut. That bitch should really learn to mind her own business."

Sakura felt her temper flare at Sasuke's words. Her voice became higher as she yelled "Sasuke Uchiha don't you dare call Ino that! She doesn't deserve that from you because she was kind enough to tell me what you were doing with Kagome in the dark. If not, I would have never known because nobody else would have told me!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes "Why did you think nobody told you; because it's not true. That's the whole point of rumours. They're just rumours…"

"Don't you give me that bullshit Sasuke," Sakura growled "Now all I want to know is when and why you are cheating on me? When did your affair with Kagome start and why did it have to be Kagome? She's my friend Sasuke and do you know how much this hurts me?"

Sasuke was finally losing his patience with Sakura. "How many times do I have to repeat this Sakura? Kagome and I are innocent! I am not cheating on you! The affair has no time span because there was no affair in the first place! Kagome is just a good friend Sakura! You know full well about my past with her so you should be able to understand the relationship we share! I only see Kagome as Itachi's best friend and nothing more!" he all but yelled.

"You only see her as your brother's best friend?" Sakura mumbled, her voice getting softer.

Sasuke nodded and smirked, thinking that he had finally managed to convince her. He certainly didn't expect the slap that came after her words. He blinked in surprise and he placed his hand over his bruised cheek, already guessing that there was a handprint there.

"Why do I find that so hard to believe Sasuke?" Sakura asked him in a sarcastic tone. Sasuke raised his brows at her statement.

Sakura noticed his reaction and she started to explain "I've seen how you look at her Sasuke. You're like a totally different person when you're around Kagome…there's this gentle look on your face and that smile you have for her…I've never seen you smile like that in public before. You rarely smile like that even with me. You're so happy around Kagome and that's got me wondering whether you really loved me in the first place!" Sakura yelled.

Sasuke blinked before he whispered "Sakura…"

She held her hand up "Just shut the hell up Sasuke. And tell me _now_. Why did you cheat on me with someone I know?! I'd rather you cheat on me with a stranger so that it makes it easier for me to send that person to the hospital! And why the hell did you have to make her pregnant?! Don't tell me you want an heir to carry on the Uchiha line? I told you we would wait for a few more years! So why Kagome?! Why her?! I know that she's a better choice to continue the Uchiha line but why her?!" Sakura yelled, the tears finally appearing again.

She pounded her fists into Sasuke's chest over and over again. "Why?! Why?! Why?!" she kept on repeating as she cried.

Sasuke knew that he should have comforted her now in this situation but he couldn't. He just couldn't. He was just so frustrated over her… dare I say it…bitchy behaviour. Sakura was being so self centred right now that it frustrated him to no end!

It was all about her, her, her! She didn't even want to listen to his explanation!

"For the last damn time Sakura I am not cheating on you!" Sasuke snapped. "And even if I did cheat on you whose fault do you think it is?" he added as an afterthought. Sakura stopped her pounding on his chest and she looked at him with wide eyes.

"What?" she whispered in a horrified tone.

"You have been so self centred ever since we got married Sakura; it's always been about _you_. Never about me. It's always been about your needs. Never about my needs. It's always been about what you want. Never about what I want. For example; I want children but because for your sake Sakura, I promised to wait a few more years. Your job always comes first in your heart, not me. You rarely spend time for me and we rarely have time for sex. Have you ever thought about how lonely I felt whenever you rushed off to work and left me alone at that empty apartment?"

Sakura's eyes grew wider with each sentence Sasuke spoke.

"That loneliness I felt when you left me in that empty apartment to go for work was exactly the same as the loneliness I felt when I spent my nights in the deserted Uchiha complex after Itachi slaughtered the clan. Sakura, we rarely act like husband and wife so sometimes I wondered why we even got married in the first place," Sasuke said in a low voice.

Sakura wanted to comfort Sasuke and tell her that she was sorry for all the things she had done to him then and there. She had also wanted to apologize for making him feel lonely every time she left for work. She had even wanted to explain to him why her job was so important to her and also why she didn't want to have children now. Yes she had wanted to do all those things. But as her brain processed his words, she found herself frowning in confusion.

"Wait a minute…" she muttered "So are you saying that it's my fault you are having an affair?"

Sasuke froze and he allowed a surprised expression to appear on his handsome face. Hang on…when he had confessed that to her he never intended for her to think like that! He never intended to make it look like it was her fault!

"And are you also instituting a divorce with me?!" Sakura's voice was high and cold.

Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, to explain to her that it wasn't like that. But before he had the chance, Sakura had yelled "Sasuke you bastard!!" She kneed him straight in the groin and stomped angrily out of the apartment, slamming the door shut. It took a few moments for the pain to finally set in and Sasuke's usually expressionless face contorted with pain. He found himself sinking to his knees, his hands over his severely injured balls.

'_Did Sakura use any chakra when she kneed me? Because it sure felt like she just permanently destroyed my chances of ever having children. How the hell is the Uchiha line going to continue now?_' Sasuke thought as trembled in pain.

Ah Sasuke… but that's what you get for pissing off an insanely strong Kunoichi…

Meanwhile… Sakura couldn't stop the tears that were falling from her face as she wandered aimlessly around the streets. Why and how could Sasuke say such insensitive things like that to her? Didn't he know how much it had hurt her?

'_But you know what Sasuke said is true…_'Sakura's inner whispered '_It has always been about you…_'

Sakura sank to her knees and she clutched desperately at her head, trying to make his words go away. But it wouldn't. His words were ringing in her mind so loudly. '_And even if I did cheat on you whose fault do you think it is?_'

"Shut up," Sakura whispered in a broken tone "Shut up!"

She pounded her fists on the ground over and over again, crying out all the sorrow she felt from Sasuke's affair. Finally, Sakura slumped against the wall, exhausted and utterly defeated. Her eyes looked dead and they just stared dazedly at the ground. She ignored the bewildered looks that people gave her as they passed by and continued in her daze. She did not even look up when she heard footsteps approaching her.

"S-Sakura, i-is that you?" a timid voice asked.

When Sakura didn't reply, the owner of the voice knelt worriedly by her friend's side. She tried to get Sakura's attention again but was ignored by the pink haired Kunoichi. Finally after a few more attempts Sakura's eyes glanced at the person and she found herself staring into the pale white eyes of the Hyuuga heiress.

"Hinata," she croaked.

"Sakura what happened to you?" Hinata asked in a worried tone and Sakura couldn't help it when she broke down again. Her head slumped against Hinata and she sniffled "Sa-hic-Sasuke's cheating on hic-me with Kagome-hic…" she wailed. The Hyuuga heiress frowned as she heard that. She was sure that Sasuke wasn't the type of man to be unfaithful and she wanted to go and confront him about it, but she took a look at her friend and decided.

Sakura was more important right now…

"c-come on, I'm going to t-take you home with me and we'll get you s-something warm to drink okay?" she asked in a determined voice. Then she helped Sakura stand up and together she and the pink haired Kunoichi made their way back to the Hyuuga compound.

End chapter

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Thank you Eriklover101, ILoveAnime89, SakuraBlossom24, LuLuCrazeD, reads-way-2-much, Passing-Glance, Bloodcherry, XXmistressdeathXX, Dreams of the future, kinki-kitsune, KarasuKimi, .passion, Goddess of Death 09, Kage Hasu, Vampire Miko 159, Kagome Miko207, kakashixangela and L M K I T S U N E for reviewing!

And special thanks to Kagome Miko207 for taking the time to review for every chapter!

Wow I certainly didn't expect for this challenge fic to get so many reviews. It's over the 50 mark! So I would love to thank all of you lovely readers for reading and reviewing for this fic! Ah but Jo I think I might need a little help in the next chapter. I really have no idea what to write for Sakura and Hinata's talk. And you do know Hinata's personality best, not because you're a fan of Nana Mizuki but because sometimes you act a lot like her.

Hmm… so a lot of drama unfolds in this chapter.

It seems that no matter what Sasuke says, Sakura won't believe him. Well personally I think he's in deep shit, don't you? I thoroughly enjoyed writing out what 'gift' Sakura gave him in this chapter because I don't really like him much. Out of the Uchiha brothers, my heart lies with Itachi. But Sasuke is very handsome, I'll admit that.

Please review!


	6. Chapter 5

Love Actually

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 5

Hinata and Sakura entered the Hyuuga compound and the Hyuuga heiress politely nodded to the servants that greeted them before she hurriedly took Sakura to her room. Then once she made sure that Sakura was sitting comfortably on the Tatami mat she immediately started to prepare some tea. She handed Sakura the cup of tea, and the pink haired Medic Nin took it with shaking hands.

Hinata frowned worriedly at her friend's behaviour and she asked silently "D-do you want to tell me about it Sakura?"

Sakura was silent for a moment before she spoke softly "I was in my office when Ino came in and dragged me off to lunch. Then she started to tell me all those horrible rumours about Sasuke and Kagome and at first I didn't believe it, but then as she talked the facts started to make sense. And then I saw them together in the streets…"

Tears started to roll down her cheeks again and Hinata placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I ran home and soon Sasuke came back. And you know what the first thing he said to me was? He said 'Tadaima' as if nothing was wrong," she laughed bitterly, and Hinata frowned slightly "I know he saw me in those streets Hinata. I know he saw me seeing them and running away. So maybe I thought when he came home he would be explaining to me, telling me what I saw wasn't what I thought it was. And yet what does he say to me? Tadaima…"

Her fists clenched and she mumbled "Sasuke's an insensitive asshole…" And Hinata had to agree with Sakura on that part.

"We talked at first, but then it changed into a full blown argument and even when I asked him to stop keeping me in the dark and tell me the truth, he tried to convince me that he and Kagome were innocent and that he only saw her as his brother's best friend, but who the hell was he trying to kid?!" she snapped "The facts are against them and no matter how I look at it; Sasuke is really cheating on me with Kagome. Our argument ended with him instituting a divorce…"

She brought her hands to her face and wiped away the tears.

Hinata looked kindly at her friend and she spoke timidly "Umm…Sakura…maybe you s-should listen to Sasuke. He m-might have been telling you the truth. M-maybe it was all just a simple misunderstanding. M-maybe he and K-Kagome are innocent."

She hoped that Sakura would listen to her, but to her surprise her pink haired friend only smiled grimly at her.

"I would really like to think it was like that Hinata. But you weren't there in the streets just now. You didn't see how Sasuke behaved around Kagome. He only behaves like that sometimes around me; and not even in public too. But just now he was in a shop full of people and the look in his eyes told me that he saw her and her only," Sakura looked close to crying again.

"He even hugged her in public Hinata, and you should know that Sasuke isn't one for public displays of affection…" Sakura moaned.

The pink haired medic stared into her cup and she watched the swirls of smoke rising from the tea with a dazed look on her face. "It's obvious Sasuke doesn't love me anymore. Kagome's the only woman in his heart now. And she's pregnant…So I guess I should really divorce him so that he can marry her and take care of her baby…" she mumbled in a dead tone.

Hinata heard every word her friend said and she frowned.

She placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder and her pale eyes met Sakura's green eyes. "Y-you shouldn't say that Sakura!" she talked louder, trying to sound confident. "S-Sasuke _does_ love you! You have to stop saying all these negative things!"

Sakura blinked in surprise at Hinata's outburst.

In all the years Sakura had known Hinata, she had never known the Hyuuga heiress to be so outspoken before. This was only the second time that Sakura had seen Hinata like that; the first being Hinata's defiance with Neji. Hinata blushed at her own behaviour before she spoke again, only this time in a softer voice "M-maybe you should go and speak with Kagome first before you decided things Sakura. I-if Sasuke won't tell you the truth, t-then maybe Kagome will."

Sakura looked at Hinata in horror but the Hyuuga heiress was determined "You have to face Kagome someday Sakura, and you know it."

The pink haired medic was silent for a moment as she thought about it. Then she turned to her friend and nodded timidly "All right. But I know it's really going to hurt me and I don't have the courage to do it alone. So could you please go with me Hinata?" she asked softly.

Her friend smiled slightly "Sure. But we'll go later Sakura. R-right now you need time to prepare yourself."

Sakura flashed an appreciative smile at Hinata and she took another sip of her tea. The Hyuuga heiress also quietly sipped her tea and if the two women weren't so busy talking to one another just now, they would have noticed a certain blonde who had returned from his mission standing outside the room listening to every word they said. His blue eyes flashed angrily and he left the Hyuuga compound before they even realised he was there.

Both the civilians and Ninja turned pale and quickly stepped aside once they sensed the massive killer intent radiating from the usually happy blonde. They didn't know who was on the receiving end of the blonde's anger but they secretly wished him luck. The blonde headed for the direction of Sakura's house and he was thinking of a million ways to make the Uchiha suffer.

Why did he have to find out what happened to Sakura on the day that he came back?

The day had started perfectly well for him; he had returned to Konoha with Kakashi after their 5 months long mission and the Copy Ninja had known how much Naruto missed Hinata so he decided to let the blonde head home first while he reported to Tsunade.

Naruto had been grateful to his ex-sensei and happily accepted.

He had even skipped home and he sneaked through the Hyuuga compound because he wanted to give Hinata a surprise. And yet what did he have to overhear? That Sasuke was cheating on Sakura with Kagome and that he even wanted to divorce her?!

Okay Naruto admitted to himself that before he and Kakashi left for their mission, he had asked Sasuke to take care of both Sakura and Kagome; Kagome especially since he knew that there was something bothering the raven haired beauty, but he certainly didn't expect Sasuke to take care of her _that_ well!

Grrr…all Naruto was sure of right now was that there was certain hell to pay for one Uchiha…

* * *

After Sakura had stormed out of the apartment, Sasuke had spent the next 10 minutes trembling on the floor in pain. His private parts were so sore he was certain that he would never be able to father children for the rest of his life. Oh why didn't he ever learn medical Ninjutsu? It would come in so handy right about now…

"Sakura…" he growled her name in frustration.

The pain didn't subside until after a while and only then was Sasuke well enough to pull himself up from the floor and stagger to the kitchen. He ransacked the fridge for a packet of ice and heaved a sigh of relief as the cool sensation invaded his senses. And as the pain finally started to die down, Sasuke leaned against the kitchen counter and sighed deeply. Now all he had to do was hope that the kick she gave him wasn't too damaging. With the free time, Sasuke found his thoughts roaming to his pink haired wife.

"Maybe I should have just explained things to her instead of just saying something and expecting her to believe me," Sasuke muttered with a twinge of guilt, before he shook his head slightly. "No, I shouldn't be saying that. I promised Kagome that I wouldn't tell anyone, so I won't. And besides, Sakura is my wife. She should trust me, not doubt me."

It took a moment for Sasuke to realize that after all Sakura had seen that day, trusting him was the least expected thing she would do.

Sakura had heard all those nasty rumours about him and Kagome, and Sasuke believed that she had tried to ignore them because she trusted him. But she had probably lost all trust in him when she saw Sasuke and Kagome in the baby shop.

And Sasuke had to wonder. "Do I really behave differently around Kagome?" he mumbled to himself.

'_Well actually you do…_' a small voice in his head chided gently, and Sasuke found that he couldn't disagree. There was nothing wrong with that statement; and he only wished that Sakura could see underneath the underneath when he behaved differently around Kagome.

'_I've known her ever since I was born…so obviously I would act differently around her…_' he though dully to himself, and he sighed softly as he pondered on the other reason why he acted differently around Kagome. At first Sasuke had treated her kindly, even volunteering to take care of her and her child out of his own free will because of his own personal selfish reasons. But after spending more time with the raven haired beauty, he actually found himself caring for her deeply again, and now his desire to help her was genuine.

The selfish reason was no more, even though it made Sasuke feel a little guilty that he had wanted to make use of Kagome like that. Yes, he could never face her again if she or anybody found out, and that was why he did not tell anyone; even his wife was no exception to that. So that was why he refused to tell Sakura why he was so concerned about Kagome.

And besides, he also promised that he wouldn't talk to anyone concerning her pregnancy.

Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts when he heard some knocking on the door. He put the bag of ice on the counter and made his way towards the door. He frowned in annoyance as the knocking on the door got louder and louder and soon there was a shout of "Oi teme! Open the damn door!!!" from the other side.

Sasuke rolled his eyes; it looks like Naruto was back from his 5 months long mission with Kakashi.

As Sasuke neared the door, it was suddenly kicked open and without another word an angry blonde pounced on him. Sasuke was quite surprised by Naruto's behaviour and he furiously thought '_Do I have a large bulls-eye painted on my back or something? Why am I being attacked by everyone today?!_'

He struggled to get Naruto off him, but first the blonde successfully managed to land a punch on his ribcage.

Sasuke hissed in pain before he landed a punch on Naruto's jaw. The blonde's neck cracked slightly at the impact and then Naruto wrapped his hands around Sasuke's neck and started to strangle him. The Uchiha uttered a strangled choke and he finally managed to knee Naruto in the ribs. He heard a distinct crack and the blonde relinquished his grip on his neck. He threw the blonde him and Sasuke rubbed his sore neck as he glared angrily at his ex teammate. "What the hell was that for Naruto?" he asked furiously.

Naruto glared back at him and he yelled "How dare you cheat on Sakura-chan! Why did you cheat on her with Kagome-chan?! Teme what is wrong with you!"

Sasuke groaned in exasperation. Was that what it was all about? He met the blonde's angry gaze and with a straight face and he replied curtly "I DID not cheat on Sakura. Kagome and I are innocent. Why does everyone think I'm cheating on her? Do I look like the type to be unfaithful?" he asked and he was met with the blonde's dull stare.

Sasuke closed his eyes "Forget I asked that," he added as he remembered he _was _unfaithful to Konoha by joining Orochimaru.

"When I came back from my mission, I heard Hinata talking to Sakura-chan and I heard everything they said. You even made Sakura-chan cry," Naruto said darkly, and for a moment Sasuke saw a flicker of red in his eyes.

The Uchiha sighed "Look Naruto for the last time, I am not cheating on Sakura damn it. I took care of Kagome because it was the right thing to do. She was pregnant but yet she didn't want to tell the father and had wanted to be an unwed mother. But you know very well that she could barely make ends meet so obviously I wanted to help her. I can't tell you more than that because I promised to keep her secrets from her so you're going to just have to trust me," he said in a deadpanned tone, before he stared at Naruto in the eyes.

Doubtful blue eyes met a pair of serious onyx, and after a while the blue eyes began to change to trust. Naruto sighed before he muttered "Fine I trust you teme. But you had better go and explain to Sakura-chan. I don't care if you promised Kagome-chan but Sakura-chan has the right to know."

Sasuke paused "I think I would like to give Sakura some time alone first."

Naruto rubbed his sore jaw as he looked around the house and his eyes landed on the bag of ice lying on the counter "Sakura-chan did something to you before she left, didn't she?" he asked in a knowing tone and Sasuke had to hand it to Naruto; the blonde was getting smarter.

"…She kneed me in the groin…and I think she used her chakra…" Sasuke muttered quietly after a while.

Naruto winced "Ouch. That had got to hurt…" he replied and Sasuke stared back at him. "You have no idea…" he said in a deadpanned tone and Naruto looked at his friend in sympathy. Getting a chakra enhanced kick to the groin by Sakura-chan…?

Naruto really pitied Sasuke right now…

End chapter

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Thank you LuLuCrazeD, SakuraBlossom24, Kage Hasu, LM KiiTSUNE, kakashixangela, Tenshi Mioko, Dreams of the future, kinky-kitsune, Bloodcherry, .passion, eloquent dreams, JessicaAnnCowley, xXWolfAngelXx, guardian1moon, Kagome Miko207, Crystal Tsuki Tenshi, demonprietess5011, sweetlittlemiko and Domyouji for reviewing,

*Grins* This story is really exceeding my expectations. I didn't expect people to like reading it. Now it's close to the 80 reviews mark. Arigato gozaimasu!

Hmm so for this chapter Sakura and Hinata talk, and please don't blame me if I get Hinata's personality wrong. I don't write about her at all so please spare me^^ I think this is the first time I have written Hinata. So she and Hinata are going to pay Kagome a little visit soon. And something is going to happen while their there.

So Naruto overhears them and he goes to confront Sasuke in Sakura's place.

Naruto and Kakashi were off on a five month mission somewhere in Wind Country so that explains their absence during Kagome's pregnancy. And judging by the time, they already left the village by the time Kagome went to Sakura for a check-up.

In the next chapter I'm going to be introducing some Naruto characters new to this story.

I'll try to add humor and there will also be mystery in the next chapter so look forward to it. I should have it up by 2 months cause now it's my exam period and I know I am so going to fail Art, Chinese, Chemistry and Additional Maths. -_-

Please review!


	7. Chapter 6

Love Actually

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 6

Kakashi strolled down the corridors of the academy, one hand in his pockets while the other clutched the mission report he was going to turn in on time for once in a year or so. He had the usual bored and uninterested look in his eye but actually inwardly he was rather pleased.

It was so good to be back in Konoha after 5 months again.

He was looking forward to seeing his comrades and ex-students again, and he had to also pay respects to Obito, Rin and Minato at the memorial. But most importantly, there was a certain person that Kakashi was hoping to see, so he wanted to hand in his mission report and get it over with. As he stepped into the mission room, he blinked in surprise as he saw a group of Ninja huddled together and speaking in hushed tones. They didn't seem to notice his entry which was unusual since they were ranked Chunin and above.

"Did you see how big Kagome's getting?" Izumo asked the rest and they nodded, some smiling while others frowned. Kakashi's curiosity was perked the moment he heard the name Kagome and he listened more intently to their conversation.

What did they mean Kagome was getting big? Was she gaining weight or something?

"Yeah, makes me wonder if she carrying twins," Raidou said with a small smile on his lips. Kakashi's heart skipped a beat as he listened on. Did he hear them correctly? Did they say that Kagome could be carrying twins? Was she pregnant? What the hell?

"Hey Iruka, you're pretty good friends with her. Did she tell you who the father is?" Kotetsu asked but Iruka shook his head.

"Nope sorry Kotetsu. She wouldn't tell me when I asked her; and I didn't want to probe," he replied with a frown."All right let's get back to work guys. What would Tsunade-sama think of us if she sees us all gossiping here like nosy women—" Raidou began but he froze when he spotted Kakashi standing by the doorway. The other jounin turned as well, and they felt a sense of uneasiness as Kakashi seemed to radiate a dangerous aura.

There was a dangerous glint in his eye and Raidou began awkwardly "A-ah, K-Kakashi you're back."

The Copy Ninja only creased his eye in an all too fake way before replying "Raidou, tell me what you were all discussing about just now that was so interesting you didn't even sense my presence," and the tone of voice he used meant there was no second option.

The Ninja looked at each other before someone, Kotetsu probably, elbowed Izumo in the ribs and the guy began to speak.

"Well uh Kakashi you probably don't know this because you were out of the village by the time we found out," Izumo said in a slightly nervous tone but he quickly got straight to the point when he noticed Kakashi's bored glare "Kagome's pregnant. And I'd say she's about 7 months along now."

"Oh, and who's the father?" Kakashi asked rather calmly, but actually everyone could almost see the killer intent in his eye.

Izumo winced before he replied "Well…err, that's the point. We didn't even know that Kagome was dating someone until she got pregnant. So no one knows who the father is and when we tried asking her about it she wouldn't tell us. But there have been rumours in Konoha about who's the father. Some people say it's Genma; Kagome's been avoiding him lately, and other people say it's Sasuke; the two of them have gotten really close these past few months, but it's more of Genma than Sasuke."

"Genma and Sasuke huh…?" Kakashi muttered softly before he walked up to Izumo. The Chunin looked fearful of what was going to happen to him when Kakashi took his hand. Izumo then blinked in surprise when Kakashi placed his mission report in his hand.

"Here's my report, and thanks for the information," he said mysteriously before he strolled out of the mission room, the dangerous aura following as he left.

All the Ninja in the room unconsciously let out the breath that they were holding the moment they realized that Kakashi was there listening in on their conversation. And they all somehow couldn't help but pity Genma and Sasuke; for they were sure that Kakashi was off to demand an explanation from them.

Those unlucky souls…

* * *

Shiranui Genma was a well known playboy in Konoha.

Women practically threw themselves at his feet whether he wanted them to or not, but most of the time he wanted them to. It was nice to have a fling or a one night stand once in a while, in his opinion. Anyway, because of his popularity with the ladies, it was safe to say that over the years, Genma had seen his fair share of all the different types of women, ranging from the sexy to the seductive, the kind to the manipulative. He had seen all the different types, and yet he wasn't attracted to any one of them.

That was the reason why he was still single despite him being 38 now.

But…there was one woman that Genma was quite attracted to; and that was Kagome Higurashi. She was different from the rest of them, he could see it. Yes, she was different, and despite being one sexy woman, Kagome was quite modest and she was never proud or arrogant. Genma had tried to court her for some time, but she always turned him down. And that was when Genma could see that she had another man she loved.

He didn't know who the man was, but he felt damned envious of the lucky bastard.

And he was also pretty pissed since it was obvious that Kagome wasn't together with the man she loved. Genma wasn't sure who the guy was, but he believed the guy must have been freaking blind to ignore a woman like Kagome.

But when the news got around that Kagome was pregnant, Genma had been pretty sceptical at first, until he saw Kagome for himself.

And then he guessed that the child's father was probably the guy she that loved. Because of his long time experience with women, Genma was quite knowledgeable about the opposite sex and he could be really perceptive about them when he wanted to.

Still, the only thing that managed to elude him so far was the identity of the father of Kagome's baby.

He still hadn't a clue who the man was; but he was sure if he spent more time with Kagome he would slowly be able to fix the pieces of the puzzle together and figure out the truth. Maybe even Kagome knew that he was capable of doing that; which could explain why she had been avoiding him lately…

Genma sighed as he gazed into his drink.

Kagome had not spoken to him at all and every time he tried to see her she could conveniently 'disappear'. He missed talking to her damn it, and he was getting pretty darn cranky because of it. What was worse, there was now a rumour circulating in Konoha that he was the father of her child because of Kagome avoiding him. What the hell, Genma hadn't even kissed her yet, much less sleep with her. So how the hell could the child be his?

Sometimes…he really hated the gossipers in Konoha.

Genma snapped out of his thoughts when he sensed someone standing behind him. He turned around and to his surprise, he was grabbed by the collar and the attacker slammed him painfully into the wall before he could even react.

The senbon sucker winced in pain and he glared at the offender. "What the hell Kakashi?" he asked the Copy Ninja angrily.

He was met with a calm gaze from the Copy Ninja and Genma swallowed thickly; there was seriously something wrong with Kakashi's behaviour today and if he didn't know any better, he would say that the Copy Ninja's anger was directed at _him_.

"I've heard something very interesting about you Genma and I was wondering it if was true. Did you really father Kagome's child?" he asked and Genma inwardly groaned.

"Oh not you too Kakashi!" he moaned in an exasperated tone "How many times do I have to tell everyone. I am innocent. I didn't even kiss her or share a romantic relationship with her, much less sleep with her! And if you're wondering about a drunken one night stand or something, I haven't done it with her, only Shizune…" his last word came out in a whisper and Kakashi raised his brow "You know Tsunade-sama is not going to let you off once she hears that right?"

Genma nodded "Yeah well, my lips and hers are sealed, so can I assume yours is too?"

Kakashi nodded "All right then. And since I trust you won't lie to me about Kagome, do you have any idea who I can get the truth from?" he asked the senbon sucker and Genma was silent as he pondered on his answer…hmm someone to ask huh…

"How about our genius but number one lazy-ass Ninja?" he offered.

"Right, thanks," Kakashi told him before he released Genma from the wall and walked towards the door. The senbon sucker watched as the copy Ninja left before ordering another large jug of beer; he really needed to get dead ass drunk and forget everything right now.

* * *

Kakashi knocked on Shikamaru's door and he wasn't surprised when it was Temari that answered the door. She was married to Shikamaru for quite some time now. Shikamaru had proposed to a year ago and the wedding followed soon after. Of course there had been some complications from their engagement, for example trying to convince Gaara to accept Shikamaru as a brother-in-law and also allowing Temari to live with Shikamaru in Konoha. But other than that, their relationship was going pretty smoothly.

She blinked at him before smiling "Ah Kakashi you're back," she acknowledged and Kakashi nodded.

"Is Shikamaru at home?" he asked her and she nodded. "Yeah he's coming up with the plans for the Chunin and Jounin exams. Come on in and I'll get him for you," she told him and she moved into the house, heading for the bedroom. Kakashi chose to stand instead of sitting on the couch and it was only a few moments before Shikamaru appeared. "What can I do for you Kakashi?" he asked the Copy Ninja as he sat down on the couch. Temari took a seat beside him and they both waited for Kakashi's answer.

"Well I was hoping you could tell me something about the rumours going on in Konoha," Kakashi replied with a shrug.

Shikamaru raised his brow before he replied in a dull tone "First thing's first; I have nothing to do with Kagome's pregnancy, and I'm just as clueless as you are because it's too troublesome to figure everything out. So don't expect me to have all the answers."

"Shikamaru! Don't be rude," his wife chided lightly.

"Hai, hai, anyway, Kagome just got pregnant some time after you and Naruto left for your mission and no one knows how she got pregnant. She won't tell anyone about who the father is and she keeps on avoiding the topic every time someone asks."

Temari frowned "It's quite sad for Kagome-san, it looks like the father won't acknowledge the baby and she has to raise her child single-handedly. What an irresponsible man. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil." Shikamaru continued from there "Anyway, if you really want the answers, then I'm not the guy you should be looking for. There's someone other than Kagome who probably knows more of the truth than me, and that's Sasuke. Ever since she got pregnant he's been taking care of her and watching out for her that the people start to think that he's the father."

"But it's only a rumour though," Temari added "I mean Sasuke's married to Sakura already, so I don't think he would cheat on her."

Kakashi nodded before creasing his eye "Thanks Shikamaru, Temari, I guess I'll be seeing you two some other time then." He waved goodbye as he strolled out of their house, this time heading for a certain Uchiha's house, where he hoped he would be able to find out the truth.

And if Sasuke really was the father of Kagome's child…well then Kakashi was going to make sure his ex-student NEVER had children again.

* * *

Sakura paused uncertainly as she stood outside of Kagome's house.

Her finger hesitated on pressing the doorbell and Sakura didn't know if she could do it. The nerve that she had built up was failing her. Somehow she didn't want to speak with Kagome, because she knew that there was a possibility that she would have to leave Sasuke instead of the older woman. After all, Kagome was pregnant and she was not.

Hinata stood patiently beside her pink haired friend and she waited silently for Sakura to gain back her nerves again.

Soon the pink haired medic swallowed thickly and her finger pressed on the doorbell. A few moments later there was shuffling coming from the inside and the door opened to reveal Kagome. She smiled brightly when she saw who was there.

"Sakura! Hinata! Come in come in," she said enthusiastically and stepped aside.

The two Kunoichi stepped into her house and somehow Hinata had that nagging feeling at the back of her head that something was going to go very wrong if they entered. But of course she ignored it; it was only a nagging feeling after all, and besides, her friends were more important.

Ah Hinata…if only she had the slightest clue that her nagging feeling had been right…

End chapter

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Thank you Dreams of the future, Xirah, LuLuCrazeD, 4get me not, eloquent dreams, iheartanime43, raillelee, kinky-kitsune, fan, kakashixangela and Kagome Miko207 for reviewing!

Meh, this has to be the quickest update I have ever done. I was really hyped up about this chapter because finally my favourite character makes an appearance. Anyway, my exams are over and I know that I'm officially screwed in all my papers. -_-'

So about this chapter...

Yes, I support the pairing ShikaTem, not ShikaIno. In my opinion Ino is better paired off with Chouji or Sai.

So Kakashi's going to Sasuke to find out the truth and the father is revealed to Kakashi actually. Unfortunately it's only revealed to Kakashi and you readers will only get your answer in a few more chapters. The next chapter is going to take a while to write because my laptop is being a bitch right now.

There's something wrong with the screen and I have to whack it just to make it normal for about 5 seconds before it goes back to white and fuzzy mode.

Please review!


	8. Chapter 7

Love Actually

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 7

Sakura and Hinata entered Kagome's apartment and Hinata wasn't surprised to see that there were baby items cluttered around the house. Kagome blushed when she noticed the messy state of her house and she flashed them an embarrassed smile "So sorry for the mess, I really wasn't expecting company and I just got back from shopping."

Hinata smiled lightly and she shook her head "It's all right K-Kagome-san."

"Take a seat and I'll be right back," she told them and motioned to the couch before she went into the kitchen. Hinata and Sakura sat down on the couch and Hinata asked in a soft voice that managed to be heard by Kagome "W-were we interrupting anything Kagome-san?"

Kagome's voice came from the kitchen "Oh no, I'm just getting you two some tea."

She came back from the kitchen with three cups of hot tea and she placed two cups in front of Hinata and Sakura. Hinata picked up her cup and she began to sip lightly at the hot tea.

Sakura ignored her cup and chose to be silent instead of speaking up like she should be.

Her head was down and her pink bangs were covering her eyes so Hinata couldn't see what the pink haired medic was feeling right now. Kagome sipped at her tea, waiting for Sakura or Hinata to start the conversation and it was silent between the three of them for a few moments before Hinata decided to break the silence by asking the first thing that came to her mind.

"How's the b-baby Kagome-san?" she asked politely.

Kagome smiled and she replied proudly "Tsunade-sama says that the baby's doing just fine. Well the baby should be healthy since it's always kicking me like there's no tomorrow. Tsunade-sama even said that I could also find out the gender but that would only ruin the surprise."

"S-so does that mean you haven't seen how the baby l-looks like?" Hinata asked again.

Kagome shook her head and she placed her hand over her stomach. "Like I said, that would only ruin the surprise. I'd rather find out only when the baby is born. So…what do I owe the pleasure of this visit to? Surely you didn't just visit me to ask about my baby?" she asked them with a knowing look in her blue eyes.

"Umm…w-we just wanted to chat that's all. A-about Sasuke-san," Hinata replied slowly for Sakura since the pink haired medic still hadn't spoken up.

Kagome's smile only got wider "Ah…Sasuke huh? So what do you want to talk to me about him? About why he's been spending a lot of time around me a lot lately? I know it must seem quite scandalous for everyone to see a married man like Sasuke hanging around me, but there isn't anything going on between us. Would you like to know why he's around me all the time?" and at Hinata's nod Kagome continue.

"Well every time I asked him why he was hanging around me instead of keeping Sakura company, he says that she has no time for him and there's only work on her mind. Sakura really, you should spend more time with Sasuke."

Hinata frowned slightly when she saw Sakura's hand start to tremble slightly.

"That's not too good Sakura. I've noticed you and Sasuke have been growing a little apart lately. I know your career's important to you but so is your husband. You should divide you life equally that way y—" Kagome began but she was cut off when Sakura slammed her fist on the table, making her tea cup spill over.

"S-Sakura?" Kagome stuttered out, surprised at the behaviour of her friend.

The pink haired medic stood up and now Hinata could see that she had started crying again. Sakura sent a death glare at Kagome and she spoke in an angry tone "Don't you dare talk about my lifestyle with me Kagome Higurashi! At least I don't go around seducing other people's husbands, especially the husbands of my own friends you tramp!"

Kagome blinked and she looked slightly offended. "Excuse me?" she asked, the confusion evident in her voice.

Hinata opened her mouth to try and intervene, but no sound came out. Her voice had failed her for this matter and she could only watch Sakura and Kagome's argument with horror filled eyes. Oh this was bad…this was very bad…this was very very bad…

"I said you tramp! You seduced Sasuke, slept with him and he got you pregnant! He's the father!" Sakura yelled more and Kagome's eyes grew wide. Her cup of tea slipped from her hands and shattered on the floor. The tea stained the carpets but Kagome wasn't worried about that now. "Sakura…?" she started softly but the pink haired medic ignored her. "I'm right aren't I? Sasuke's the father! Everyone's been saying about it and at first I didn't believe it until I saw it for myself. I saw you both today and you were acting all lovey-dovey in the streets!" she angrily wiped the tears away.

"Oh god how could I have been so blind?! All this time for the past few months you were meeting each other and acting like a couple!" she yelled in frustration.

"How could you do this to me Kagome? How could you?! I thought you were my friend! How could you and Sasuke hurt me like this?! I trusted you! I trusted the both of you! But who knew all along you two were playing me for the fool! The both of you betrayed me! Especially you!" and with that she grabbed Kagome's shoulders, squeezing it tightly.

"Sakura…" Kagome said, her face pale "Stop it…You're scaring me…"

"Answer me Kagome! Answer me! Why?! Why would you do this?! Why would you and Sasuke do this?!" she yelled and she shook Kagome's shoulders. The raven haired woman didn't say anything else but she was looking at Sakura with a fearful expression on her face.

"S-Sakura, please calm down!" Hinata begged, finally finding her voice but she was ignored by the pink haired medic.

The Hyuuga heiress was seriously worried for the raven haired woman as she knew that Sakura's mental state was really delicate right now and it also looked like she was bordering on hysteria. Kagome on the other hand had gone terribly pale and she looked like she was going to throw up.

And suddenly the petite woman gave a small gasp of pain.

Her hands clutched at her pregnant stomach and Hinata couldn't stand it anymore. "Stop it Sakura!" she yelled, not stuttering for once. Sakura listened to Hinata this time round and she stopped shaking Kagome, even removing her hands from the woman's shoulders as though she had been stung by something. As the pink haired medic watched Kagome, she wondered what the raven haired woman was playing at.

"Kagome?" she questioned slowly, but said woman didn't give her a reply.

Instead her breathing quickened and she looked like she was seriously in pain. Okay Sakura was sure that she wasn't faking anything now. Hinata rushed forward and placed her hand on Kagome's back. "Kagome-san, are you all right?" she asked worriedly but a gasp escaped her lips as she saw that Kagome's dress was staining with a liquid of some sort.

Her water had just burst. Because of the sudden agitation the mother was getting, Kagome had gone into early labour. Oh shit…

"Sakura, we n-need to get Kagome-san to the h-hospital now!" Hinata said loudly, but the pink haired medic was staring at Kagome with wide eyes. She had done that? She had made Kagome go into early labour? Oh god what had she done? What the hell had she done?! What if Kagome lost the baby?! Sasuke wouldn't forgive her for sure!

"Sakura!" Hinata yelled again and Sakura snapped out of her thoughts. "We have t-to get Kagome to a hospital!" she said in a flustered tone and Sakura nodded.

They slung each of Kagome's arms over their shoulder and they made their way to the window. The petite woman was still whimpering in pain and without another word the two of them jumped out of the window, heading for the direction of Konoha hospital.

* * *

Meanwhile… in the Uchiha apartment, Sasuke was busy helping Naruto wrap the bandages around his chest.

Because of the kick he gave Naruto earlier, Sasuke had managed to break a few of the blonde's ribs. Other than that Naruto was completely fine, and Sasuke knew that in a few hours the blonde's injuries would have already healed because of the Kyuubi in him.

However, Sasuke was not too sure about himself.

He had some Naruto-sized finger marks on his neck and also he still hurt down there because of Sakura's chakra infused kick. Somehow he really couldn't help but wonder if he was able to ever have children again.

"Oi teme, tighter," Naruto complained and he yelled in pain when Sasuke gave his bandages a sharp tug.

"OWWWW WHAT WAS THAT FOR TEME?!" he bellowed in Sasuke's ear but fortunately the Uchiha did not go deaf. Sasuke gave Naruto a dull stare and he replied "You said you wanted me to bandage it tighter. So quit your whining dobe otherwise bandage your own broken ribs."

Naruto growled at Sasuke and it looked like another scuffle was going to break out between the two rivals but they broke their gaze when there was a knock on the door. Sasuke got up and he made his way to the door while Naruto took over bandaging his own broken ribs, although faint mutterings could be heard coming from the blonde about how the 'teme always seemed like he had a Kunai shoved up his ass'.

Sasuke opened the door and he was met with the lazy stare of his sensei.

"Yo," Kakashi greeted in a seemingly normal Kakashi-like behaviour. And to the people who didn't know Kakashi, he seemed like he was behaving normally. However, to Naruto and Sasuke who had known him ever since they were Genin, they could honestly tell that there was something bothering their cool as a cucumber sensei. He seemed to radiate a dangerous aura and Sasuke's instincts told him to stay cautious.

"Kakashi," the Uchiha greeted politely while Naruto yelled happily "Kakashi!" as if he had never seen the Copy Ninja for 10 years when in actuality the last time they had spoken was only a few hours ago.

And also, Naruto and Sasuke had stopped referring to Kakashi as their sensei ever since they were promoted to Jounin status.

Kakashi raised his brow when he noticed the injuries on Naruto and Sasuke, although it was pretty obvious that they were injured and that they had gotten into a fight because some furniture in the apartment was broken while others were overturned. Since he had seen Naruto earlier this morning, he knew that the blonde didn't suffer from any broken ribs when they returned to Konoha, and yet here he was seeing Naruto wrapping bandages around his chest, presumably for some broken ribs.

As for Sasuke, he noticed the finger shaped bruises on his neck almost immediately, and Kakashi couldn't help but wonder why Naruto and Sasuke had gotten into a fight. If they had wanted to spar they could have gone to the training grounds instead of fighting in the apartment.

"Can I help you Kakashi?" asked Sasuke in a bored manner.

"As a matter of fact Sasuke you can, but can I come in first?" the Copy Ninja asked and Sasuke stepped aside. Kakashi entered the apartment and like always he preferred to stand instead of sitting down. He faced his ex-student and began.

"I was handing in my mission report when I heard a very interesting rumour. Is Kagome really pregnant?" he asked.

Sasuke nodded "If you don't believe the rumours then why don't you just pay her a visit yourself?" he replied calmly and Kakashi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "Well I could have but you know how unpredictable Kagome's temper can be. This is the first time I came back from a 5 month long mission without being hospitalized and I'd rather not risk it."

"Just admit it Kakashi, you're scared of Kagome-chan," Naruto said with a grin.

Kakashi didn't answer Naruto and he kept his firm gaze on Sasuke "Anyway when I asked them more about it, they said that Kagome was pregnant one day and she wouldn't give them answers on who the father was." And once he said that Sasuke inwardly groaned; oh he knew what Kakashi was going to ask him and he also knew why Kakashi seemed very dangerous today. It was so damned obvious!

"So they gave me a few rough ideas on who could be the father and one of them was you Sasuke," Kakashi paused and he stared at the Uchiha with his visible eye "So I wanted to ask whether it was true."

Sasuke stared at Kakashi for a while with no hint of emotion in his eyes before he replied "No."

"Oh," Kakashi hummed "Then why have you been spending so much time with Kagome lately? Everyone can account to seeing the two of you together in Konoha countless times and they say that you act very un-Sasuke-like around her, so tell me why," he asked, expecting Sasuke to not be able to give him a plausible answer.

"You and Naruto were out on a mission and she was alone, so I had to watch out for her," Sasuke replied calmly. "Is that all?" Kakashi asked again and Sasuke couldn't help but feel some irritation growing in him. First it was Sakura, then it was Naruto and now it was Kakashi who was asking him about Kagome's pregnancy. Was today really his unlucky day?

And was Kakashi going to turn violent like Naruto and Sakura too?

"Yes that is all Kakashi. And if you really want to know who the father is, then I suggest you follow your own advice. 'Look underneath the underneath', as you so simply put it," Sasuke told him icily, letting some of his irritation show.

Kakashi frowned and he was silent for a moment as he thought about what Sasuke had said.

But after a while he looked into Sasuke's eyes and said "Sasuke, be so kind as to enlighten me then, because I can assure you I don't have the simplest idea who. So exactly who is the father of Kagome's child?"

Sasuke was silent as Kakashi anxiously waited for his reply, and now even Naruto was anxious to hear what the Uchiha was going to say about the father. The blonde was leaning so close to the edge of the couch he was sitting on that he looked like he was going to topple over on to the floor. But amazingly, Naruto could still maintain his balance from sitting at that angle.

"All right," Sasuke said softly as he looked Kakashi in the eye, "I'll tell you."

Kakashi and Naruto looked slightly pleased and they gave Sasuke their full attention. The Uchiha opened his mouth and after those four syllables escaped his mouth, both Naruto and Kakashi's eyes widened in shock.

"What?" Naruto whispered in a disbelieved tone while Kakashi was just shocked into silence.

"Oi teme, what you said can't be true. How can it be _him_?" Naruto asked but after he looked into Sasuke's serious stare, he knew what the Uchiha told them had been the truth.

There was another knock on the door and this time it sounded urgent.

Sasuke knew that the Naruto and Kakashi needed some time to absorb the information so he decided to leave the both of them alone in their thoughts for a while by answering the door. He blinked in surprise at a non-Ninja medic that was standing outside his door, panting like crazy.

"U-gasp-Uchiha-san!" the man began.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked. "Tsunade-gasp-sama wanted you to know that Kagome-san went into early labour! She wants you to come to the hospital right now!" he finished and gulped in some more air.

Sasuke's eyes grew wide and he cursed.

"Naruto! Kakashi!" he barked, and the two Ninja snapped out of their thoughts. He explained to them what had happened and together the three of them disappeared in a swirl of wind, leaving behind one exhausted messenger.

End chapter

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Thank you SakuraBlossom24, Xirah, LuLuCrazeD, omica21, Kagome Miko207, iheartanime43, 4get me not, xXWolfAngelXx, Crazy Demon Girl, Flyingpotchan, Dreams of the future, kakashixangela, Reads-way-2-much, ILoveAnime89, JessicaAnnCowley, Rinda-chan, Kenjo and Skaterperson250 for reviewing!

Wow this fic has reached over 100 reviews and this has also got to be the longest chapter I have ever written so far. Thank you so much!!! *bows gratefully* Arigato gozaimasu!

Sorry it took me a week, but as I said my laptop's screen was malfunctioning and it was difficult to write. And so I had to use the main computer to update. The main computer belongs to my brother while my laptop belongs to me so that was why it took me so long because we had to share. My brother's a computer addict like me.

Anyway, like I said Kakashi finds out who the father is in this chapter. But who could it be to actually shock him speechless? XD I know I'm evil, but don't worry, the father will be revealed in the next chapter or the next next chapter at the most.

Hmm...so Sasuke's answer was four syllables.

For some of you who already know the truth it might be confusing how the father's name can be four syllables. I will explain it in time, but you can PM me if you want to know what Sasuke told them. This is meant only for readers who know the truth^^

Please review!


	9. Chapter 8

Love Actually

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

AN: Please read the author's notes at the bottom to understand some things^^

* * *

Chapter 8

When Sasuke, Kakashi and Naruto reached Konoha hospital, Sasuke strode to the counter, grabbed the nearest nurse by her collar, brought her face only inches away from his and asked her in a deadly tone "Which room is Kagome Higurashi in?"

Even though Sasuke looked like he had wanted to make her suffer a slow and painful death if she didn't reply him soon or said that she didn't know, the nurse couldn't help but blush at the close proximity of his face to hers. Their noses were only inches apart and she could even smell the light scent of medicine on his clothes.

Fortunately, the nurse beside her had enough sense to check the charts for Kagome's whereabouts.

"She's in room 240. It's on third floor and you have to go through the left corridor next to the lift," she told Sasuke hastily and the Uchiha let the other nurse go. Then he and his two companions quickly walked off towards room 240.

Soon, they were outside of room 240 and and Sasuke had to blink in surprise when he saw Sakura and Hinata outside of the room.

Hinata looked anxious and she kept on flicking glances to the doors of the room as she twiddled her thumbs and Sakura looked positively pale. She was muttering incoherently under her breath and a moment passed before a look of anger crossed Sasuke's face.

He walked up to Sakura and asked her icily "Sakura what the hell did you do?!"

Sakura flickered her gaze at him before she looked to the ground and tears started to trickle down her face. "I-I didn't mean to make her go into early labour. I-I just lost control of my temper and..." her voice trailed off. Sasuke's expression looked like he had wanted to hit Sakura then and there for once in their married life and Sakura looked ready to accept it.

But suddenly a hand was placed on Sasuke's shoulder and he found himself staring into the onyx eye of his ex-sensei.

"Sasuke," Kakashi told him "You need to calm down." The anger in Sasuke's eyes started to dissipate when he looked into Kakashi's eye. What right did he have to lose control of emotions when even Kakashi was keeping his own emotions in check?

Sasuke looked at Sakura for a second before he walked away from her and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall.

Naruto had gone to Hinata and the Hyuuga heiress took one look at the blonde before she launched herself into his embrace. And Naruto was silent as Hinata trembled in his arms.

Once she was calm enough, Naruto asked her softly "What happened Hinata?"

She then started to tell them everything that had happened; from when she found Sakura in the streets to when they confronted Kagome, and she ended with Sakura causing Kagome to go into early labour.

"How's Kagome now?" Kakashi asked.

"Sakura and I-I brought her to the hospital and Tsunade-sama is in there with her now. S-She told us to wait outside and so far there's been no news," Hinata replied him softly and Kakashi sighed.

He walked to Sasuke and he leaned against the wall beside his ex-student.

The tension in the corridor made it very difficult to breathe. Sasuke kept on flicking his eyes to the door and he silently hoped that Kagome would be fine. He glanced over to Naruto and the blonde's leg was twitching in anxiety and fear.

It almost looked like it was Hinata who was in there and that Naruto was the expecting father.

Hinata also stared at the door and she was twiddling her thumbs to try and ease her anxiety. Sakura looked depressed and she was inwardly hoping that Kagome would be fine. Sasuke and Kakashi had their usual look of indifference on their faces so it was impossible to tell what they were feeling. Like student like sensei I suppose.

But inwardly his stomach was doing back flips, his palms were sweaty and his legs felt like jelly.

He had done research on how many things could go wrong in childbirth and how dangerous it could be for the mother. He didn't care if Tsunade was in there with Kagome. The Slug Princess couldn't save everyone; her lover was a good example. And also, Kagome was in early labour; this also made the risks higher for both the mother and the baby.

Sasuke kept an annoyed glance at the door and he was cursing at the soundproofed walls. The silence was killing him.

It was unnerving. The soundproofed walls prevented him from hearing what was happening in there and that made him as extremely worried. Even if Kagome was using a very colourful range of swear words and cursing the name of the father to the seven depths of hell and even if she was threatening the father's manhood, Sasuke wanted to hear what she was saying.

Even if Kagome was cursing his name for letting her keep the baby or even if she was threatening his manhood for convincing her to keep the baby, Sasuke wanted to hear it. He wanted to hear that she was okay; that she doing all right.

Because Sasuke was sure if she died, then the guilt would consume him more than ever.

Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts when the doors were open and out stepped Tsunade. Her hair was tied in her usual pigtails and there was a surgical mask pulled under her chin. A thin sheen of sweat was covering her forehead and the look on her face was very disheartening.

She had a solemn look on her face and Sasuke felt a sense of dread bubbling in the pits of his stomach. He feared for the worst.

"How is she Tsunade-baa-chan?" asked Naruto and the Slug Princess sighed deeply. "I'm sorry but..." she began with a frown and watched their reactions carefully. Hinata looked like she wanted to burst into tears again and Naruto looked like he wanted to join her in the crying session. Kakashi's and Sasuke's fists were clenched while Sakura looked positively horror struck.

"I'm sorry but," Tsunade continued again "You're going to have to buy another set of everything because Kagome's just delivered a healthy set of twins!" she finished with a bright smile.

Slowly, everyone's reactions started to change.

Naruto broke out into a bright grin and he punched his fist into the air, yelling "YES!!!!" Tsunade was sure the whole hospital must have heard that one. "Don't ever scare us like that again Tsunade-baa-chan!!!" Naruto yelled shrilly before he asked "How's Kagome-chan doing?" and Sasuke's ears perked up at the question.

Naruto was right, how was Kagome doing?

"Kagome's tired but she's doing just fine. She's resting now so if you want to see her I suggest you make it short," Tsunade replied sharply before she looked as though a thought occurred to her.

"Oh, and in case you all were wondering, the twins are a boy and a girl. The boy is the elder one while the girl is the younger one."

Hinata looked relieved while Sakura silently thanked the gods. Sasuke and Kakashi let out the breath that they had been holding and both the Copy Ninja and the Uchiha broke out into a small smile.

Then they watched as Tsunade motioned for the nurses behind her to bring out the babies.

The babies were in a rectangular container each and the nurses were pushing them out. "Because the babies are premature we have to keep them in the hospital for a while," Tsunade explained and the nurses came to a stop in front of the Ninja.

Sakura found herself staring at the babies.

"This is Itachi," Tsunade said and she motioned to the baby that was currently awake, and the name of the baby earned some curious looks from some people in the room. Naruto and Kakashi looked amused that the baby had the same name as an ex S-class criminal while Sakura's ears perked up at the name of Sasuke's elder brother.

Tsunade shrugged "Don't ask me, Kagome was the one that named him Itachi," she replied and some people nodded. They were aware of Kagome's deep friendship that may have even bordered on the lines of romance with Sasuke's elder brother Uchiha Itachi.

Sakura almost whimpered when she took notice Itachi's appearance.

Itachi was awake so he was looking at all the adults with a curious look in his black eyes and there was a small tuft of black hair on his head. Sakura found herself looking at Sasuke in disbelief. How could he deny that he was the father? The baby looked like a trademark Uchiha with the black hair and eyes! Would he deny being the father now if she asked him.

If Sasuke noticed the glare that Sakura was giving him, he was taking no notice of it. Right now his attention was only focused on the babies.

Naruto was cooing about how cute the baby was and he was pointing from the baby to Hinata. He must be trying to convince his wife to bear a child for him soon. The Hyuuga heiress was smiling lightly at the baby. Kakashi felt his breath go away when he noticed that Itachi was staring at him with curious eyes. He creased his eye and the baby smiled slightly.

"And this is Isuzu," Tsunade said, indicating to the next baby.

Sakura wanted to see how Isuzu how looked like, and yet at the same time she didn't. She already guessed that Isuzu would look like an Uchiha as well, and that it would only confirm even more that Sasuke was the father. And that it would also mean she would get even more hurt.

Yes she was masochistic wasn't she?

Isuzu, unlike her brother, was fast asleep so Sakura couldn't see what colour her eyes were. Tsunade seemed to be able to read Sakura's mind because she replied softly "She has Kagome's eyes."

And there appeared to be no traces of hair on Isuzu's head.

But when the nurse pushed Isuzu away, Sakura saw something glistening above the baby's head. It was then that she realized Isuzu did have hair after all. But it was just that the hair had been too little and that the colour of the hair had been too light to make it noticeable right away.

The colour was…_silver…_

Sakura's eyes widened in shock and she immediately looked at her ex-sensei. Kakashi was staring at a sleeping Isuzu with no hint of emotions betraying his face and his previous conversation with Sasuke was still replaying in his head.

--

_But after a while he looked into Sasuke's eyes and said "Sasuke, be so kind as to enlighten me then, because I can assure you I don't have the simplest idea who. So exactly who is the father of Kagome's child?"_

_Sasuke was silent as Kakashi anxiously waited for his reply, and now even Naruto was anxious to hear what the Uchiha was going to say about the father. The blonde was leaning so close to the edge of the couch he was sitting on that he looked like he was going to topple over on to the floor. But amazingly, Naruto could still maintain his balance from sitting at that angle. _

_"All right," Sasuke said softly as he looked Kakashi in the eye, "I'll tell you." There was an annoyed expression on his face as he pondered on how to give Kakashi his answer. But finally he settled on the most straightforward one._

_"It's you dumbass," he snapped at the Copy Ninja._

_--_

Kakashi hadn't really minded or bothered when Sasuke called him a dumbass; no, he had only been focused on the more important point. How the hell could he have been the father of her children!?

He was out of the village when she was pregnant.

But then it occured to him that Kagome's stomach had started to swell after he left, and it was only when a woman was at least 3 months pregnant would her stomach grow noticeably bigger.

But he also had no recollection of ever doing it with her--wait he remembered that at least 7 months ago when he had woken up on the morning after Rin's death anniversary in his apartment, he had a hangover along with a splitting headache and no recollection of what had happened to him the night before.

Kakashi was doubtful at first about the fact that he was the father, and he was even more doubtful when he saw how Itachi resembled Sasuke, but his doubts and concerns melted away when he saw Isuzu. She had inherited his silver hair and gods she really resembled her mother.

And now…Kakashi had two children…and he was a father…

A proud look crossed his face as that realization slowly dawned on him. He was a father! Kakashi quickly walked into the room and saw Kagome lying on the bed looking pale and tired. Sweat was dripping from her brow and she had looked like she wanted to pass out from exhaustion then and there. But she tried to stay awake when she noticed someone had entered her room.

When her blue eyes met his onyx ones there was a brief flash of happiness before it disappeared and she looked away.

The happiness Kakashi was feeling slowly evaporated when he remembered that she had been 7 months pregnant and that she had only been left alone for 5 months. But during those 2 months that she had been pregnant, she had never approached him about the subject. Kakashi walked up to Kagome and he kneeled beside her bedside.

He rested his head on her chest and he whispered softly "Why didn't you tell me?" he sounded slightly hurt judging from his tone.

A few moments passed before Kakashi felt Kagome running her finger through his soft silver hair. He looked up into her blue eyes and she replied tiredly "I didn't want to trouble you and you were already out of the village by the time I found out."

"You could have sent me a message," he told her softly.

"You know my feelings for you even though I never said it out loud. I would have come back and taken care of you. I love you Kagome," he confessed with emotion and he pulled his mask off, leaning in to kiss her on her lips.

But Kagome looked away and said in a pain filled voice "Please don't."

Kakashi stopped and he pulled back, confusion evident in his face. Kagome looked at him again and she replied quietly "I can't do it Kakashi. I just can't be a replacement for Rin like that." A look of supposed understanding crossed Kakashi's face before he stood up. He leaned in again, this time giving Kagome a soft kiss on her forehead. "Get some rest first Kagome, and we'll talk about this when you feel better," he told her softly.

Kagome nodded before she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Kakashi looked at her sleeping form for a few moments before he went outside the hospital room. "Sasuke, I need you to tell me all that has happened in the time I was away. I know she must have told you something about this," Kakashi whispered to his ex-student in a serious tone.

"And I'm sure Sakura wants to know the truth as well."

And with that they both looked at the pink haired medic Ninja. They could see that Sakura looked utterly confused. She kept glancing from Kakashi to Sasuke, wondering what the hell was going on.

Sasuke sighed softly her behaviour and he decided to spare her the agony of trying to figure it out. The truth was complicated, and she would never figure it out only until he or Kagome told her. But since Kagome was unable to do so right now, since his marriage was on the line and since Kakashi also wanted an explanation, Sasuke decided ah what the heck, he would tell them.

But the truth was going to need a lot of talking, and the Uchiha was just plain lazy to talk so much, so he settled telling them by Genjutsu.

But a normal Genjutsu would take too long and Sasuke wanted it to end very quickly so he decided on a quick and efficient way for him to tell them; and that was by using his Tsukuyomi. He wasn't going to torture their minds with Tsukuyomi; he just wanted to show them the truth so their mental states would be fine.

And what was best, he could take as long as he wanted to in there but only a few seconds would pass here. Although his eyesight would decrease only by a little bit because he was using Tsukuyomi, Sasuke honestly didn't care much.

He just wanted to get the explanation over and done with.

"Fine then," he told the Copy Ninja "But I want you to look in my eyes. I'll show you your explanation," he replied and Kakashi nodded. "Sakura," he called, and his wife looked at him because she sensed a massive chakra flare from Sasuke.

And when Kakashi and Sakura met his gaze, they found themselves staring into the blood red orbs of Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan.

End chapter

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Thank you kakashixangela, LuLuCrazeD, Dreams of the future, JessicaAnnCowley, Reads-way-2-much, Xirah, ILoveAnime89, SakuraBlossom24, R ii N G o K ii T S U N e, Skaterperson250, iheartanime43, Kagome Miko207, secretlovers, xXWolfAngelXx, KarasuKimi, lilpup27, Kagome-Sango-bff, Rinda-chan, Aashni, Crystal Tsuki Tenshi, omica21, hilaryho and kinky-kitsune for reviewing!!!

Wow I stand corrected, this is the longest chapter yet and it only took me one day to update because I was really hyped up for this chapter and the inspiration kept flowing!!

So the next couple of chapters is going to be explaining on how the hell can Kakashi be the father through Sasuke. But as to how he could know that much about scenes that didn't even have him, it was Kagome who told him first. She told him through her own Genjutsu. Kagome may not be a Ninja, but she does know some Jutsu thanks to Itachi.

I'm sorry if I disappointed some of you because you were expecting Sasuke to be the father. I don't really like Kagome/Sasuke pairings.

Like I said, between the Uchiha brothers, my heart leans more towards Itachi, so I'm a MAJOR fan of Itachi/Kagome pairings, but so far Kakashi/Kagome is my FAVOURITE pairing ever. I've already written 5 Kakashi/Kagome pairing fics, including this one.

And also, about the twins; their names have some links to Kakashi and Kagome's precious people.

Itachi was named after Uchiha Itachi, Kagome's precious person (And it is only pure coincidence that he happens to look like Itachi as well ^^) while Isuzu was named after Rin, Kakashi's precious person and dead girlfriend. The Kanji for Isuzu is ((依鈴)) and the Kanji for Rin is ((鈴)). So see, the Kanji for Rin can also be read for Suzu.

More about this will be explained later.

Please review!


	10. Chapter 9

Love Actually

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 9

Sakura wasn't sure what had happened, what was going on or where she was.

The last thing she remembered was being in the hospital, trying to piece the truth together without much success. Then after she heard someone, Sasuke presumably, call her name she responded. She saw a flash of red before everything went blank, and now she found herself standing in this empty white place. Seriously, there was nothing here. The floors were a spotless white and it looked almost blinding, and there even wasn't a speck of dirt in sight.

"Oh I'll kill that damned asshole," she muttered angrily "It must have been that stupid Sharingan of his…put me in a Genjutsu of some sort…"

Sakura put her hands together in the familiar hand sign and she closed her eyes, concentrating. Sakura stopped the flow of chakra in her body before she applied a supposedly even stronger power to disrupt the flow of the caster's chakra.

"Kai!" she shouted and waited for the Genjutsu to disappear, but nothing happened.

Sakura frowned and she tried again, but again nothing happened. Sakura grit her teeth in frustration and she tried again, the thought of giving up not crossing her mind. But like the first time, nothing happened and Sakura wondered what was wrong. She was a Genjutsu specialist so breaking a Genjutsu like this was no problem for her, so why wasn't anything happening?

"Sakura," she heard a low familiar voice call her name.

Sakura turned around and she found herself looking into the onyx eye of her ex-sensei. "Kakashi," she began, and like Naruto and Sasuke, she had stopped calling Kakashi 'sensei' when she became a Jounin "What are you doing here? What am I doing here? And what type of Genjutsu is this? Why can't I break out?" she asked.

Kakashi opened his mouth to reply her, but another familiar voice cut him off. "You're in the world of Tsukuyomi, one of my Mangekyou Sharingan techniques," the voice replied.

She and Kakashi turned to the side and slowly Sasuke materialized before their eyes. He took a look at the world around them and Sakura heard him mutter thoughtfully "Strange…the world of my Tsukuyomi is completely different from Itachi's world. I wonder why…"

Sasuke shrugged "Oh well…I guess we really are opposites," he mused.

Sakura didn't know what he meant by that, and she didn't want to find out. All she was concerned about now was how to get out of here. "All right Sasuke, why the hell did you bring me and Kakashi here? And why can't we get out of this Genjutsu?" she asked angrily, and even sent a death glare at his way.

But surprisingly, Sasuke wasn't fazed by the death glare of the pink haired medic and he instead calmly continued to stare at Kakashi and Sakura.

"Kakashi wanted an explanation, and I suppose I do owe you one as well, because you will never understand the truth if you tried to figure it out for yourself," Sasuke began softly "And you can't get out of Tsukuyomi unless I want you to get out. Sakura, you should know that Mangekyou users are gifted with almost god like power because of their techniques. Anyway, I thought that if you wanted to know the truth, it might be better if I showed you instead of just telling you," he added as an afterthought.

"Kakashi, bear with me for a while. I will have to show her everything from the beginning so Sakura can understand fully, and maybe you need to understand it from Kagome's point of view as well. Also, some memories might get a little personal for you," he told his ex-sensei.

The Copy Ninja nodded "How early is the beginning?" he asked.

Sasuke took a moment to ponder on his reply. "…Roughly 21 years ago, when she was 4 years old; I'm starting at the funeral, and don't worry, I may control time and space in the world of Tsukuyomi, but I have no intention of spending twenty years in here. I'm only going to show you two the important events and summarize the rest."

Kakashi nodded again but a frown appeared on Sakura's pale face. They were starting the explanation from a funeral? Whose funeral? And hold on a minute… "Wait just a moment Sasuke, how are you supposed to explain something that happened over 21 years ago? You weren't even born yet and I highly doubt that you can remember your diaper wearing years," she asked and Sasuke's eyebrow twitched slightly at Sakura's use of 'diaper wearing years'.

But he ever so patiently replied "Kagome showed me her memories through a Genjutsu when she gave me her explanation and now I'm going to show you what she showed me. And I'm also including some of my own memories as well."

Sakura didn't seem appeased by that answer "How can Kagome show you a Genjutsu? She isn't even a Kunoichi," she stated.

"There are many things that you don't know about Kagome's past Sakura, so you'd be surprised if you saw how many Ninjutsu and Genjutsu Kagome can do; not to mention some basic Taijutsu. Apparently Itachi taught her a lot of things in the years they spent together," Sasuke said with a light smile on his face and there was even a type of gentleness in his eyes that Sakura rarely ever saw. She couldn't help but feel the sinking feeling in her stomach again when Sasuke's behaviour turned a complete 180 degrees at the mention of Kagome and or Itachi.

Kakashi coughed softly when he sensed the depression that Sakura was feeling. Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts and he looked at the two "All right, let's begin," he told them softly, and the white space before them started to disappear while a new scene started to materialize.

* * *

It was raining, Sakura could see. But surprisingly the rain didn't seem to touch them, for Sakura wasn't wet. The rain just seemed to pass through them. Sakura looked around when she noticed the landmark seemed familiar and she realized that they had appeared at the cemetery, where a funeral was being held.

There were a lot of people, both Ninja and civilian alike dressed in black.

Some were crying, while others looked solemn under their umbrellas as they stared at the coffin that was placed in front of the crowd. And Sakura could see a deathly pale man with a peaceful look on his young face as he lay in the coffin. His hair was dark and he looked very, very handsome.

Sasuke didn't look at the man but instead he was looking at someone else. "Look there Sakura," he said and pointed to the front of the crowd.

Sakura did as she was told and she saw a brown haired woman with an absolute look of grief on her face as she stared at the man inside the coffin. The man inside the coffin must have been someone close to her; it could have been her brother or even her lover. Silent tears were trickling down her face and she was trembling. There was a dark blue, almost black haired woman that looked remarkably like Sasuke standing beside the brown haired woman.

"Sasuke, why does she look like you?" Sakura asked, but after seeing his dull stare she continued "Is that your mother?" she asked him as she stared at the dark haired woman. Sasuke nodded stiffly "Yes, she's Mikoto Uchiha."

Sakura turned her attention back to Mikoto and she saw her patted the brown haired woman's back soothingly, whispering some comforting words into her ear.

"There, there Kun Loon, you have to be strong," she whispered softly. The brown haired woman, now identified as Kun Loon was also carrying a bundle in her arms and when the bundle moved Sakura realized it was a baby with the same dark hair as the man. That only confirmed her suspicions that the dark haired Ninja was either a husband or a lover to Kun Loon.

But what had that woman have anything to do with Kagome's past, Sakura had to wonder.

"Sasuke," she began "What does that have to—" she was cut off. "Look at the young girl standing behind her," Sasuke said calmly and again Sakura did as she was told. She blinked when she saw a young girl who looked no older than three standing behind her. She was small so she could have hid behind the brown haired woman without being noticed.

Kakashi felt his heart skip a beat as he recognized the young girl.

Sakura squinted her eyes as the rain was preventing her from seeing the girl clearly. But when she did see Sakura realized that the young girl had dark black hair along with the most stunning pair of blue eyes that one could ever hope to see. "Is that… Kagome?" she asked bewilderedly.

Sasuke nodded "Yes."

It didn't take a genius to figure out what she was doing there. "Then the Ninja that's dead, is that her father?" she asked. Sasuke nodded again but this time it was Kakashi who answered for him "Kagome's father Higurashi Kagerou was a well known Ninja in the war despite his young age. But unfortunately he was killed by the Iwa Ninja during a high ranked mission. Kagome was only three while her little brother Souta was only a few months old."

"But I've never seen her mother and brother in the hospital much less Konoha before," Sakura voiced out.

Kakashi sighed "Yes, that would be expected. Kagome lost both her mother and brother in the Kyuubi attack. She was an orphan at aged five." When Sakura heard that, she couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy for Kagome, losing her father, mother and brother at such a young age.

Sakura had both of her parents alive even when she was twenty years old.

The three of them continued to watch the funeral and Sakura had to blink when she saw how young Sarutobi looked back then. His hair was still brown and there were fewer wrinkles on his face. As he launched into a speech about Kagerou, Kun Loon trembled even harder and broke out into more sobs. Mikoto had to take Souta from her arms so that he wouldn't wake up and as she did so Sasuke stared at his mother with an unknown emotion in his eyes.

After the funeral ended the people began leaving, and Mikoto handed young Souta to her husband Fugaku, and the man looked plain uncomfortable holding a baby in his arms. He tried to protest, but Mikoto gave him a dry stare and that shut him up. She put her arms around Kun Loon and gently guided her friend away from the cemetery.

"My parents were good friends with Kagome's parents. My mother grew up with her mother while my father and her father were rivals of sorts," Sasuke stated softly as he stared at them.

Sakura kept silent when she heard this and she continued watching them. She saw Mikoto turn her head around and call out softly "Kagome-chan, it's time to go." But Kagome remained rooted to the ground as she stared at her father's tombstone.

Sakura guessed that Kagome must have been close to her father before he died.

Mikoto sighed softly and she turned to the young boy that Sakura didn't take notice of before. He looked no older than Kagome and he was following Mikoto at her heels. "Itachi, you stay here and keep Kagome-chan some company okay? Then later you can bring her back to the Uchiha estate," she told him.

Itachi nodded "All right mother."

He turned around and walked back to the cemetery, standing beside Kagome. He held the umbrella over both their heads to prevent them from getting wet in the rain. And because of their parents' friendship, Itachi had known Kagome ever since he was born and they were inseparable. Each understood what the other was thinking and feeling perfectly. Mikoto and Kun Loon had always arranged play dates for the two of them and one time their mothers had even jokingly suggested to their husbands that their children should get married when they grew up.

But now, Itachi stared at Kagerou's tombstone and he said softly "I notice you didn't cry at all."

Kagome nodded slowly "I know Daddy would want me to be strong for Mama's and everybody's sake. And I also have to be strong for Souta too," she told him with an unknown emotion in her voice. And Itachi shook his head as she said this. "Your tears do not belong to anyone but yourself. They are not others to control. There is no need for you to be strong for others. You only have to be strong for yourself. So if you want to cry, then you should cry," he told her.

And with that the two of them lapsed into silence.

Itachi patiently waited as she pondered on his words, and hoped that she would understand if she kept her feelings bottled up like this, then there would come a time when she could no longer contain them, and all those suppressed feelings would come pouring out like a burst pipe. And Itachi knew that when that time came, it would destroy her. Kagome shifted her footing slightly and she ended up staring at the ground.

"It's hard to believe that Daddy's not coming back…" she finally mumbled.

Itachi stopped staring at the tombstone and he instead focused his attention on Kagome now. "I can still feel the kiss he gave me a few days ago before he went on his mission…And I can still hear his voice, telling me to keep Mama and Souta safe while he was gone."

Itachi could see that her eyes were starting to tear up.

Kagome rubbed the tears away and she placed her hand over her heart, gripping the fabric of her clothes tightly. "My heart feels like it's breaking into millions and millions of pieces with every passing second…" She then looked at the Uchiha and a sob escaped her lips.

"Itachi…" she began softly "Is it supposed to hurt this bad…?" she asked innocently.

Itachi looked at his childhood friend with a tender look in his eyes and he let go of the umbrella. As it fell to the floor, he pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her waist. He then rested his chin on her forehead. Soon, he felt his clothes soaking with Kagome's tears along with the rain and he could feel her small body trembling with each choke she let out. And on that day, Itachi silently swore to himself that he would become a Ninja to protect Kagome from the war; to prevent her from getting hurt, to prevent her from feeling immense sadness or pain ever again.

And also Itachi would NEVER spare those that dared to make her cry.

* * *

Sakura couldn't take her eyes off Kagome who was being hugged by Itachi.

It was THE Uchiha Itachi; the guy who had slaughtered his clan without batting an eyelid just because Konoha ordered it. She had personally never met the man before but she had seen all the horrible things he had done to Sasuke; like landing him in a coma for a couple of weeks. Sure Itachi had never meant to hurt his brother, but he was still Uchiha Itachi. And from what the people used to say about the Uchiha clan, Sakura knew that they were not one for public displays of affection.

So, seeing this type of scene was completely new for her, and she almost gave a cry of protest when the scene disappeared and another materialized in its wake. A three year old Kagome was sitting on a porch, presumably her doorstep, and she was staring forlornly at the ground. Kagome appeared to still be depressed over her father's death. And judging by the position of the sun, Sakura could see that it was only morning.

"This is a few days after the funeral," Sasuke told her softly. Ah, it figures why she was still depressed.

There were a patter of footsteps and Sakura saw four people coming into view. There was a yellow haired man with cerulean blue eyes who looked like a carbon copy of Naruto. And Sakura knew that this could only be Naruto's father, the famed Konoha Yellow Flash Minato Namikaze; the man who would become the Yondaime Hokage. He was dressed in the standard Jounin uniform although there were some minor adjustments to his sleeves. There was a teenager with black hair and black eyes with a pair of goggles atop his head walking beside the blonde man.

Sakura blinked when she noticed he had the Uchiha insignia on his back.

There was also a brown haired girl with two purple markings on her cheeks similar to the Inuzuka clan and she was walking alongside a boy with spiky silver hair and a mask covering the lower half of his face. Sakura's green eyes widened in shock and she kept switching her gaze from her ex-sensei to his teenage self.

Kakashi's breath was caught in his throat as he found himself staring at his former team. "Obito…Sensei…Rin…" he whispered breathlessly.

The team of four made their way up to Kagome and Rin kneeled beside the girl. Kagome looked up and she smiled slightly, albeit a little sadly. "Kagome-chan, I heard from Uncle Fugaku about what happened to your father. So I told sensei and my team and we're here to offer our condolences," Obito told her kindly.

Kagome looked to the ground "Thanks," she said softly.

Minato came closer and he held out his hand. Kagome looked at it for a moment before she shook it "I'm Minato Namikaze Kagome-chan. I admired and respected your father very much and he was a senpai to me. I know it's hard but you have to be strong okay?" he asked her with a genuine smile.

Kagome looked into his sincere blue eyes and she nodded slightly.

"Kagome-chan, I'm just next door if you need anything okay?" Rin told her with a small smile and Kagome replied quietly "Arigato Rin-nee-chan." Rin's smile faltered a bit when she saw how the usually bubbly and emphatic girl became quiet and depressed. She elbowed the last member of their team who hadn't spoken at all. "Kakashi, why don't you say something to Kagome-chan?" she asked, and by the tone of her voice it wasn't a request. Kakashi still wanted to protest but he caught the serious look his sensei was giving him and he sighed, knowing there was no way out.

"Oi," he began rather unceremoniously, and Kagome looked up to meet his stare.

A pair of confused mesmerizing blue eyes met a pair of bored, half opened onyx eyes and Kakashi continued "The death of someone precious to you doesn't mean it's the end of the world. So stop being a weak and depressed cry-baby who expects everyone to show sympathy for you. Dry your tears, suck it up and get on with your life," he told her in a serious tone.

And after his words, there were multiple reactions coming from all around.

Kagome blinked in surprise from hearing his words while Minato, Rin and Obito reeled back in horror. It was not long before Obito screamed "Kakashi you asshole!! There's no need to be so harsh with her! She's only a little kid!!" and thus the two began their daily argument. Minato slapped his palm against his forehead and let out a small sigh; trust Kakashi to retain his harsh personality even though he was dealing with a three year old.

"It's all right Kagome-chan, I'm sure Kakashi didn't mean that," Rin said soothingly, for fear that Kagome might just suddenly burst into tears. Sakura and the adult Kakashi who was watching the scene had a sweatdrop at the back of their heads while Sasuke didn't appear to be affected by the young Kakashi's words.

Sakura even heard the adult Kakashi mutter to himself "Was I really so much of an ass back then?"

Kagome watched Kakashi and Obito arguing with a curious expression on her young face, and she couldn't help but wonder if Kakashi had also lost someone precious to him, and whether he had said those very words to convince himself as well.

"And with those words said, Kakashi's relationship with Kagome has begun," Sasuke muttered sullenly to the both of them.

End chapter

* * *

Thank you Dreams of the future, Crystal Tsuki Tenshi, VirusYoukaiChild, ILoveAnime89, Haruna Uchiha, JessicaAnnCowley, Reads-way-2-much, KarasuKimi, LuLuCrazeD, omica21, iheartanime43, midnight kagome, Veroxion, Rinda-chan, Xirah, kinky-kitsune, Shiori Yume, Bloodcherry, Flyingpotchan, SakuraBlossom24, Kagome Miko207, Sugar0o, Kuronueslover and demon prince-sesshoumaru for reviewing!

^^ At first this fic was created at the request of a friend, but now it seems to be taking on a life of its own. I have the plot planned out already, and now all I have to do is type it out. I can tell you that this fic will span a total of 26 chapters. There will be a prologue, 24 chapters and lastly an epilogue.

The flashback will continue until chapter 20, yes I know that's long, but it's long for a reason. You'll see^^

Ah, and about this chapter, Itachi, one of my favourite Naruto characters, finally makes an appearance as a three year old!! When I wrote this chapter I found him soooo sweet!! If you're curious about his relationship with Kagome, I'll explain. Itachi and Kagome are childhood friends and he is very protective of her. He harbours unrequited feelings for her; Kagome only treats Itachi as a close friend and a sort of an elder brother figure.

And yes, I made up her father's name. I have no idea how Kagome's father is supposed to look like much less his name as it was't revealed in the manga. And I had fun writing about Minato's team. If you have any other questions or queries, you're welcome to PM me^^

Please review!


	11. Chapter 10

Love Actually

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 10

Sakura blinked as she stared at the unfamiliar surroundings.

She knew that they were in someone's house; but she didn't know exactly whose. The house was fairly large; complete with a kitchen, living room, bathroom and three bedrooms, and Sakura briefly wondered if this was Kagome's house.

Her guess was correct when she saw Kagome sitting by the table, surrounded with children her age, including Itachi.

There was a cake with four candles in front of her, and there was a banner with the words 'Happy Birthday Kagome' hung up behind her. The children were singing the birthday song for her and Sakura could see the presents piled up in the corner of the room. Kagome's mother was standing not too far from where Kagome was with Souta in her arms, and although she was smiling, Sakura noticed that there was a sad look in her eyes. She was no doubt missing her husband, and Sakura turned to Sasuke, wondering how much time had passed since the funeral.

The Uchiha noticed her look and he replied quietly "The funeral was in November, and now it's April."

Oh, so only five months had passed, Sakura summarized before she turned back to Kagome. The young girl was grinning and laughing along with her friends, but Sakura noticed her blue eyes dulled and her smile grew slightly smaller when they landed on the clock.

But her eyes and smile immediately brightened up when she looked at her friends again. Sakura wondered what was troubling the young girl.

"Let's just skip the party," Kakashi cut in, as if he already knew the whole point of this memory. Sasuke gazed at him calmly before he nodded "All right, we'll fast forward to the end," and in the next second Sakura saw every person from the memory disappear while the sky darkened outside.

Kun Loon was clearing up after the children while Kagome was still sitting at the table, staring off blankly into space. She had a dazed look on her face which made Sakura wonder again as to what was troubling the young girl. But Kagome snapped awake when she heard some knocking on the door. Her eyes lit up happily and she scrambled off the chair, running towards the door. She threw open the door and Sakura saw that it was Team Minato standing outside her house.

The four Ninja had dirt on both their clothes and faces and they looked tired; as if they had only returned from a mission. Kagome didn't seem to mind their dirty appearances because she threw her arms around the nearest person to the door; which happened to be Minato.

"You all came!" she exclaimed happily.

Minato smiled brightly and he ruffled her hair in an affectionate manner "Well Kagome-chan, we did promise you that we would come for your party. All of us even quickened our pace to get back to Konoha sooner. But it looks like we still didn't make it in time," Minato said with a sigh as he looked around.

Kagome looked up at him and she shook her head "It's all right. I'm just happy that you all came."

Rin smiled and her hand fumbled through her weapons pouch, only emerging a few moments later with a box shaped present in her hand. "This is from me Kagome-chan," she began kindly "Happy birthday!" and with that she handed the present to Kagome.

"Thank you, Rin-san," Kagome said softly, and this gave the time for Obito to find his present.

He pulled a medium sized package out from a pack he was carrying on his back and he said nervously "Happy birthday Kagome-chan. I didn't know what to get for you so I asked Aunt Mikoto." Kagome took it from him and she said gratefully "Thank you Obito-san," before flashing him a sweet smile that made Obito turn red.

"No problem," he mumbled softly and Minato smiled brightly at the scene.

"Kagome-chan, this is from me and Kushina. We both decided on giving you this and you can use it in case of an emergency. Happy birthday," he told her cheerfully as he handed her the delicately wrapped present. Kagome smiled and thanked the blonde Jounin by giving him a hug. "…But I hope you never have to use it though," he added as an afterthought in a dark tone that made Sakura shiver slightly; and for a moment she saw a glimpse of the man behind the smiles and kindness who was the main reason why Konoha was victorious in the Third Great Ninja War.

Minato turned to Kakashi and he asked his student curiously "Aren't you going to give her your present Kakashi-kun?"

Kakashi looked away and he replied monotonously "I didn't prepare a present for her." Minato blinked for a few moments as he observed Kakashi's tensed demeanour before he closed his blue eyes and smiled knowingly "Is that so?" he asked the silver haired Ninja and Kakashi nodded stiffly. "Yes sensei," he confirmed.

Obito growled at his teammate "Kakashi, that's rude of you."

Kakashi looked at him dully "Really?" he asked before he added "But if I recall correctly, the reason we were late was because a _certain_ someone had to delay the assassination mission by getting all of us noticed by the intended target. We had to spend extra time trying to think of a new strategy to kill the guy." Obito looked ready to try and beat Kakashi up then and there, but he stopped when Rin intervened "Now cut it out you two, you're on the same team you know," she said as she held up her hands as if that action would pacify them.

Obito sighed "All right, if it's for you Rin…" he mumbled inaudibly.

Kagome looked at Kakashi "Its okay, I don't mind. I'm just happy you came," she said with a smile before she looked thoughtful. "Ne, you all just came back to Konoha right?" she began curiously and Rin nodded "From an assassination mission?" she asked again.

Minato nodded this time, slightly uncomfortable at the fact that she knew how to pronounce assassination.

And also, he somehow had that distinct feeling in his gut telling him that Kagome knew what an assassination mission was despite her young age. It must have been due to the fact that she had a well known Ninja in the war like Kagerou as a father.

"So you must all be tired then! Its okay, you don't have to stay here if you're tired. You can go home to rest and you can still visit me some other day," she said cheerfully. Minato smiled back at her "If you say so Kagome-chan," he replied before he turned to his team. "Well you heard her; you're all to go home and get a good night's rest and we'll meet up at the training grounds tomorrow at nine. Okay?" he asked and his team nodded.

"Yes sensei," they replied.

Obito waved goodbye to them before he ran off to the Uchiha district and Minato disappeared in a flash of yellow, no doubt off to the apartment of his secret red headed girlfriend. Kakashi disappeared into the darkness and Rin wished Kagome a good night before she went into her own house, which happened to be next door.

Kagome went back in and her mother smiled at her as she fed Souta his milk "It's time for bed," she said softly. Kagome nodded and she went to her bedroom, with Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi following after her. She placed her presents on the bed before going to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She returned and closed the door of her room, going to the bed. Then she proceeded to open the presents she received from her friends and Team Minato.

Most of the children had given her toys and such, but Itachi had given her a paper fan with the Uchiha insignia on it.

Sakura coughed lightly at the gift "He gave her a paper fan? Was he expecting her to use it and fan herself during the summertime or something?" she asked. Sasuke raised his brow at the question while Kakashi chuckled softly "Actually Sakura, you know that the symbol of the Uchiha is the Uchiwa fan right? And since Itachi is the heir, the fan is the highest symbol of all, and to receive it from Itachi means that Kagome's accepted into the clan. Itachi wouldn't have given it to just anyone so it means that he sees Kagome as family," he explained.

"And Kagome knew that too," Sasuke stated softly.

Sakura's eyes widened and she wondered now more than ever about the mysterious relationship between Kagome and Itachi. But she turned her attention back to Kagome when she noticed the young girl was opening Team Minato's gifts now.

Rin had given her beautifully crafted, blue Kanzashi comb. It had three large wooden carved blue water lilies on the comb with three thin twigs of buds slowly blooming hanging on the ends of it. The lilies where painted a warm light blue colour with delicate tips. The center of each flower was a blonde yellow, as if they had yet to be pollinated. It was the most beautiful comb that Sakura and Kagome had ever seen. "Wow," the pink haired medic breathed "It's beautiful."

"Rin always had a knack for picking out gifts like these," Kakashi said softly, albeit a little sadly.

Obito had given her two dolls, one that looked exactly like Kagome, right up to the blue eyes while the other doll looked like Itachi, right up to the long creases under his eyes. Kagome smiled and she placed the two dolls aside before she opened Minato's and Kushina's gift. He and Kushina had given her an intricately crafted dagger and now Sakura knew why Minato expressed his desire that Kagome would never have to use his gift.

Kagome unsheathed the dagger and she admired its craftsmanship but she sheathed it again when she heard a knock by the window.

She put the dagger down and opened her window, looking out into the darkness. And Kagome blinked in surprise when she noticed Kakashi standing sideways on the wall beside her window. "Kakashi-san," she began "What are you doing here?"

Kakashi didn't respond to her question, but he only asked her "Can I come in?"

She stepped aside and Kakashi jumped in. He pulled out something wrapped in cloth from his pockets and he handed it to her. "Happy birthday," he told her. Kagome accepted it and she mumbled "I thought you said you didn't get a present for me."

"…I lied."

Both Sakura and Kagome's eyes widened slightly with surprise; although only Kagome blushed at his statement. "I didn't say anything before because I didn't want Obito to know. And I also left my gift at home because I was afraid I would have lost it on the mission," Kakashi added.

Kagome looked at the cloth wrapped present in her hand and Kakashi asked "Aren't you going to open it?"

Kagome slowly undid the cloth and she held up the present that he had given her; a necklace. The chain was a sleek black in colour and there was an amethyst coloured gemstone in the shape of a teardrop. And there was also a strange symbol carved onto the stone.

To Sakura the necklace looked a little weird with the strange symbol but to Kagome it was the most beautiful thing she had ever received today.

"That is the Hatake symbol," Kakashi began "…it was my mother," he added softly, and Kagome looked at him with a certain emotion in her blue eyes. "…Kakashi…" she began, finally saying his name without a suffix for once "I don't know what to say…but…Thank you," she told him gratefully. The silver haired Ninja shrugged "I didn't know what else to give you, I didn't really see the need to carry a necklace, and I didn't really know my mother that well, so you can have it."

Kagome smiled and she put on the necklace happily "I'll take good care of it! I promise!"

Kakashi looked at her with a surprised expression on his masked face before he creased his eyes and smiled slightly "I know you will," he told her in a voice caked in an unknown emotion and the memory faded into the darkness.

* * *

Kagome's memory now took them to the gates of Konoha now, and Sakura could see Kagome sitting on the counter of the post stationed at the gates. She still looked the same age as Sakura had last seen her at the party and she was fingering with the necklace that Kakashi had given her.

"What's she doing here?" Sakura asked.

"She's waiting for us to return from our mission," Kakashi replied softly, but he did not go into further details about it. '_After I met her, she would always go to the gates and wait for my team, specifically me to return whenever we were sent out for a mission. Always. It was like an unspoken ritual for the both of us and I didn't tell her, but it comforted me to know that there was someone waiting for me.. Before she started waiting I didn't have anyone to return home to, at least not since Father died,_' he thought sadly.

But Kakashi snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Sasuke call his name.

He turned to his ex-student and Sasuke looked at him with a surprisingly soft expression on his face, and if Sakura didn't know any better she would say that he was trying to be considerate. "You might not want to see this particular memory Kakashi, so it's best that you leave here," he told him just as softly and it took a moment of pondering to figure out what he meant. He sighed deeply and ran a hand through his silver hair "So it's this memory huh…" he mumbled to no one in particular.

"Thanks Sasuke, but it's all right," he replied with a pained expression in his eye, and Sasuke eyed his ex-teacher for a few moments before he himself sighed and nodded "All right then," he said softly and as she watched them, Sakura couldn't help but wonder what memory would cause Kakashi pain like that.

But she turned her attention back to Kagome; she was going to find out soon enough.

A smile lit up on Kagome's face when she saw some people appearing over the stretch of road leading into Konoha. She tucked her necklace back into her shirt, jumped off her seat on the counter and she ran out of the gates, too happy and anxious to wait for them to come to her.

"Come on," Sasuke told them and they followed after Kagome.

The young girl was smiling brightly and laughing as she ran towards them, but she started to slow down when she noticed something was wrong. Team Minato was walking towards Konoha and each one of them had their heads down. Kakashi had a bandage over his left eye; Rin was struggling not to cry while Minato looked solemn. Obito was no where to be seen and Sakura had an uncomfortable feeling in the pits of her stomach; something was very wrong.

"You're back…" Kagome said to Kakashi "But where's Obito-san?" she asked quietly.

Minato's solemn expression turned sad while Rin finally succumbed to her tears. Kakashi's visible eye shone with pain and his hand clenched on something very tightly; and when Kagome and Sakura took a closer look, they saw that it was a pair of orange framed goggles; Obito's goggles.

"He's dead," the younger Kakashi choked out, and Sakura could see tears seeping through the bandages of his left eye.

Kagome's eyes grew wide and she shook her head in disbelief "…N-no…Obito-san…" she muttered in shock. Sakura glanced at her ex-sensei, finally understanding why this memory was painful for him. Kakashi was looking at his younger self, the pained expression still in his eye, and like his younger self, his fists were clenched tightly, turning his knuckles white.

Without another word, Kagome turned around from Team Minato and she ran back into Konoha.

Rin wiped away her own tears and she was about to go after Kagome, but Minato held up his hand and he shook his head. Rin sighed, knowing not to disobey her sensei and she could only look at Kagome's retreating figure as the smaller girl ran further and further away from them.

"Where is she going?" Sakura asked.

"My house," Sasuke replied, and the scene disappeared before their very eyes. The Uchiha compound materialized before them and Sakura could see Kagome running into Sasuke's family house. Itachi was busy training in the backyard when he heard someone enter the house. His father was not expected back until evening and his mother had gone out with some of her friends. And since this person could go past the wards they set had up, it meant that he or she was a friend of the family.

Itachi smiled; that would be Kagome.

But his smile turned into a frown when he heard how loud Kagome's footsteps were; that only meant that she was depressed. And true to Itachi's foresight, the moment the raven haired girl entered the backyard, she threw her arms around Itachi and started to sob on his shoulder.

Itachi hadn't expected her to be that upset.

He wrapped his arms around her and his hand stroked her hair soothingly, while he murmured some calming words into her ear. But Kagome continued to sob loudly, and Itachi could do nothing else to help as he felt his shirt get soaked with her salty tears.

His behaviour changed however when he realized that someone must have upset her enough to make her cry.

"Kagome, why are you crying?" he asked in the calmest tone he could muster. "Did someone make you cry?" he added darkly, already preparing to march up to whomever it was that made her cry to teach him a lesson he would never forget. But the raven haired girl only shook her head as she continued to cry harder. She couldn't tell Itachi about Obito's death! She absolutely couldn't! Itachi would be crushed because Obito was his cousin and she knew that Itachi regarded the elder Uchiha as an elder brother of sorts.

"It's nothing…I'm just sad…" she whispered, not telling him anything.

Kagome knew that if she could do anything now, it was to prevent Itachi from finding out about Obito's death so soon. She wanted to delay him knowing as long as possible because she did not want to see her best friend in pain. She knew what it was like to lose someone precious, so for the time being, she didn't want Itachi to feel what she felt when her father died.

"Please don't ask anymore," she began softly "Just let me stay like this for a while longer…"

Itachi could only nod at her words, not aware of the fact that Kagome had had enough reason to delay him from finding out the truth. Itachi would not realize what she had done until not much later when he thought back to the reason he grew up to be a pacifist.

It was because he had seen Obito's crushed body close up when Minato brought his corpse back to Konoha.

After seeing his beloved cousin's left side crushed beyond recognition at the morgue, Itachi had decided on that day that he was not going to resort to violence unless necessary again, even going to so much as carry out his promise to protect Kagome in a non violent way.

But that would only happen much later; for now all Itachi could do was to silently comfort Kagome while she cried her heart out at the death of a precious friend.

And as Sakura eyed Kagome, she couldn't help but feel a small sense of pity for the young girl as she knew that she was only going to lose more and more people. "Come, now let's go to the next memory," Sasuke told the group before the memory faded.

* * *

Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi were standing in the corner of a huge crowd and it was kind of weird at first when everyone seemed to go through them. Sakura guessed that everyone in Konoha was gathered here judging by the number of people, and the people were also celebrating something.

Civilians threw confetti in the air while they cheered and the Ninja smiled happily as they gazed up at the Hokage tower.

And despite the large crowd, Sakura managed to spot Kagome not too far from where they were. The young raven haired girl was standing next to Rin, Kakashi and a red haired woman, and Itachi was standing with Kagome. Sakura had never seen the red haired woman before, but she had to be one of the most beautiful women Sakura had ever encountered. Her long red hair reached until her knees, and her sea green eyes were simply stunning.

Anyway, Rin was talking animatedly with Kakashi and the red haired woman while Kagome had a thoughtful look on her face as she silently observed the red haired woman. Itachi decided not to talk because he wasn't really well acquainted with the three of them.

Sakura could barely hear a thing because of all the noise but the noise stopped when Sarutobi motioned for silence.

The old Hokage then began to speak. "Citizens of Konoha, we are gathered here today to celebrate the end of the Third Great Ninja War!" and with that the crowd started cheering again. Sarutobi waited for a few moments before motioning for silence again. "Konoha has lost many great Ninja in this war," Sarutobi began again, and this time many of the happy faces turned sad "A lot of us have lost both loved ones and friends alike, but they will always be remembered in history and they will always live on in our hearts!"

Some of the people smiled sadly after hearing this while others wiped away tears.

"Now…Besides the end of the war, I also have something to announce. Starting from today I will step down as Hokage," there were many gasps of shock coming from the crowd and there was a deathly silence in the air "But I have already discussed it with the advisors and I have already chosen a successor."

Kagome and Kakashi looked curiously at each other before they looked to Sarutobi.

"A lot of you in Konoha may already know him; he is a powerful Ninja, with an unwavering loyalty to his comrades and village. He is kind and compassionate, someone who will listen patiently and solve the problems the village may face. He is also willing to put the lives of others above his own. And, he is the main reason why the Ninja war has ended earlier than it should have been, with less people losing their lives. Here is Konoha's Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze!"

With that said Minato stepped out of the shadows and stood next to Sarutobi.

He was wearing the Hokage's cloak under his standard jounin uniform along with the Hokage's hat, although there were flames sewed at the hem of the robe. The crowd erupted into more cheers than ever at the sight of him, and Kagome smiled delightedly as she looked at Minato. Kakashi and Rin smiled lightly at they gazed up at their sensei and the red haired woman smiled proudly at her lover. Sakura gazed up at the new Yondaime and she muttered "He looks really impressive…"

Kakashi creased his eye while Sasuke didn't say anything.

But Sakura stopped looking at Minato when she noticed Kagome walking over to the red haired woman. The young raven haired girl tugged on the red haired beauty's dress and motioned for her to come closer. She kneeled down beside Kagome in confusion at first, but then as Kagome started to whisper into her ear, her eyes widened in shock. Her gaze flickered from Kagome to Minato and then to her stomach, and she whispered something back to Kagome.

"How did you know I'm pregnant?" the red haired woman whispered back to Kagome; at least that was what Sakura though she had said. Due to all the noises in the crowd, Sakura couldn't really hear what they were talking about so she could only guess what they were talking about by reading lips.

"I can sense another life growing in you Kushina-san," Kagome stated calmly but softly.

"Does Minato-san know about the baby yet?" she then asked, but after the question, the red haired woman bit her lip and avoided Kagome's gaze. It was clear to everyone what the answer was. The woman named Kushina looked around before turning back to Kagome.

"You won't tell anyone will you?" she asked, but Kagome only shook her head.

"Nope, you'll tell Minato-san when you're ready, and I'm sure he'll be really happy to be a father," she said "In fact, Minato-san will be a really great father!" she added, causing Kushina to smile at the statement. "I know he will," she whispered.

And as Sakura watched this exchange, she couldn't help but feel a growing sense of excitement. That was her! Naruto's mother! Kushina! Uzumaki Kushina! And they were talking about Naruto! _Naruto_! She got to see what Naruto's parents looked like, and although she studied about Minato in school and saw his face everyday on the Hokage monument, the sculpture of his face really didn't do the man justice. The sculpture atop the Hokage monument looked nothing like him.

And Kushina…her name wasn't on the memorial stone; she wasn't in the records, and all because she wasn't an official Kunoichi of Konoha.

So in the past few memories, Sakura got to see Naruto's parents up close and personal, and she also realized with a sad pang that they would have made great parents if not for the Kyuubi attack. Oh yeah…Sakura wondered how much more memories were there going to be until the Kyuubi attack? She was only a few months old when the Kyuubi attack, although from what her parents had told her; it was one of the most horrible experiences that Konoha went through.

Yondaime lost his life…a lot of people died…people lost their homes…their friends…their family…Naruto lost his parents…the Kyuubi got sealed into him…so many horrible things happened… Sakura clenched her fists…just how much longer was it going to be before the Kyuubi attack?

Sasuke noticed Sakura's unease at the scene. "It's time for the next memory…" he told her "And don't worry, it's not bad," he added.

* * *

This place that the three of them were at now…Sakura blinked as she looked around; even though they were in Konoha over 20 years ago, Sakura had worked in this place too damn long for her to not recognize her surroundings.

They were in Konoha hospital.

Sakura spotted Kagome a few metres away from where she was, with Itachi standing next to her. Kagome was leaning against the wall as she eyed the hospital door once in a while, and she still looked no older than 4. Itachi stood silently beside her, pale faced and his eyes were also fixated on the door. And he looked at the door with such intensity in his eyes that it almost made Sakura think the door was going to explode or melt under his gaze.

"I'm sure it'll be okay Itachi," Kagome said softly, snapping the young boy out of his stupor.

He only nodded half heartedly before replying "Mother is in labour inside and yet Father is nowhere to be seen…Does he even care about Mother and her child?" he asked monotonously, causing Sakura to blink. Sasuke's mother was in labour? She felt a growing sense of excitement. Did that mean that this memory showed the birth of Sasuke?

Kagome bit her lip as she pondered on her answer "Umm…Uncle Fugaku is probably busy at the station. But I'm sure that he will come as soon as he can!"

Itachi rolled his eyes in a very non-Uchiha way "Then obviously you don't know Father very well." Sakura's eyebrow twitched when she heard Itachi say that but Kagome only stayed silent. Itachi didn't normally behave like this so she knew it must be the stress talking.

She also knew that Itachi didn't want to lose anyone else to death.

Itachi and Kagome looked to the door when they heard it click open and out stepped the nurse. She smiled brightly at Kagome and Itachi but her smile faltered when she didn't see Fugaku around. "Umm…Itachi-sama," she began "Where is Uchiha-sama?" she asked.

"Father isn't here yet," Itachi replied "How is Mother?"

The nurse paused as she looked into Itachi's deep eyes "Right…Congratulations Itachi-sama, you have a new baby brother! And your mother is as healthy as can be," she finished, causing Itachi to break out into a small smile "You two can go in and see her, but try not to take too long okay? She needs her rest."

Both Itachi and Kagome nodded before they scampered past the nurse into the room.

Sakura, Sasuke and the adult Kakashi followed suit and Sakura could only stare as she saw Mikoto sitting up on the hospital bed with a bundle wrapped in her arms. Mikoto smiled brightly at the two of them first, but her smile faltered when she noticed someone important missing from the room.

"Itachi…where's your father?" she asked him quietly.

"Father isn't here yet," Itachi replied just as quietly "I think he's still at work." Mikoto looked slightly hurt that her husband was not by her side to see their second son and she let out a sigh. She would be sure to punish Fugaku lately for his insensitivity…Hmm…denying him sex for a few months seemed like a pretty good punishment to her… she smirked at the thought of her husband on his knees begging her to have sex with him… Ah sweet revenge…

'_Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned,_' she laughed inwardly with evil glee.

Itachi and Kagome didn't seem to mind the change in Mikoto's behaviour and they instead went closer to the scheming woman. Kagome stood on tiptoes by the bedside while Itachi clambered onto the bed to try and get a better look at his new brother. Mikoto snapped out of her thoughts and she smiled slightly at their cute behaviours. Even though her husband didn't come, Itachi and Kagome came to visit and that was good enough for her. She lowered the bundle in her arms to ensure that they could look.

"Itachi…meet Sasuke…" she said a little breathlessly.

Itachi blinked at the sight of his new baby brother and stretched an uncertain hand towards the baby. But before he could touch Sasuke, the baby yawned and opened his eyes. And a hand, much smaller than Itachi's own, had grabbed on to his pinky, refusing to let go. Hazy black eyes met surprised black ones, but after a moment, the surprised black eyes shone with an unspokable love and a small smile played on Itachi's lips.

"Sasuke…" he mumbled his baby brother's name quietly, and said baby brother giggled in response.

Kagome and Mikoto watched this exchange with a large smile on their faces, while Sakura resisted the urge to squeal at the cute scene that had taken place. "Sasuke…" Sakura said breathlessly "I can't believe you were so cute!"

Her husband looked away and only said "Hn." But if you looked close enough you could see the miniscule embarrassed flush on his cheeks.

Kakashi creased his eye at the two, happy that Sasuke and Sakura were making some progress with each other. Sakura didn't look as distrustful of Sasuke anymore as she did in the beginning now. The Uchiha's explanation on Kagome's life must have been pretty effective.

He snapped out of his thoughts though when Sasuke cleared his throat.

Sakura felt a sense of foreboding when she saw how serious Sasuke was now, since he had only just been embarrassed a minute or so ago. The next memory was probably not a pleasant one, and judging by how dark Sasuke's expression was; Sakura could already guess what the next memory was going be even if Sasuke didn't tell her.

"Next up is the Kyuubi attack," he mumbled darkly.

End chapter

* * *

Thank you Crystal Tsuki Tenshi, kakashixangela, Sugar0o, KarasuKimi, Kuronueslover, disneyrulz23, JessicaAnnCowley, Shiori Yume, Reads-way2-much, Haruna Uchiha, iheartanime43, LuLuCrazeD, ILoveAnime89, Flyingpotchan, Skaterperson250, Kagome Miko207, kinky-kitsune, xXiforeveriXx and Kage Hasu for reviewing!

In the end I decided not to put the Kyuubi's attack in this chapter because it would have made it too long. And it's already too long. Also, I haven't quite figured out Kagome's role in the Kyuubi attack yet so the next chapter might probably take a while.

I enjoyed writing more on Team Minato, especially on Kakashi's and Obito's rocky relationship.

It was hard writing about Obito's death afterward because I didn't really know what happened but that scene was sort of inspired by a fan comic I saw on DeviantArt titled 'Lost Uchiha' by 'BotanofSpiritWorld'. That person does a lot of kickass Doujinshi! The comic was about Itachi's relationship with Obito. And also about Itachi and Kakashi dealing with Obito's death. That little Itachi is kinda cute even if he is grumpy XD

If you want the link it's here ( http:/botanofspiritworld(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/ItachiObitoKakashi-Lost-Uchiha-86187742 )

I enjoyed writing about the birth of Sasuke and I thought if Fugaku didn't care much about Sasuke when he was older, what if it was like that when Sasuke was just born? So here's the end result. Mikoto sure is evil.

What was your favourite part in this chapter? Mine was Kakashi's giving his mother's necklace to Kagome and when he told her he lied. I enjoyed writing that part immensely. It would have been a very romantic scene if they were older but since Kagome's like four it's not so romantic, just sweet.

Please review!


	12. Chapter 11

Love Actually

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 11

Sakura found herself standing outside of a hospital room with Sasuke and Kakashi, and they appeared to be in the corridors of the maternity ward again. Sakura frowned in confusion as she looked around the deserted corridors; this memory was supposed to be about the Kyuubi attack wasn't it…so why were they still in Konoha hospital?

"Sasuke…I don't understand…" she blurted out, but when Sasuke looked at her she immediately stopped talking.

"Be patient, and follow me," he told her calmly. Sakura bit down on her cheek and she nodded slowly, not daring to speak. She then watched with wide eyes as Sasuke walked through the door like how a ghost should. But actually, this shouldn't come as a surprise to her since the three of them were not really back in time; technically they were only visiting the past through Kagome's memories so they weren't really there, and naturally, anything there should not be able to touch them. Okay now she was just confusing herself.

Sakura gave a small squeak as Sasuke's head phased through the door and he asked them with a raised brow "Are the two of you coming or not?"

Sakura nodded furiously before she followed after him while Kakashi stared at the door for a while more before he passed through it with a foreboding feeling in his gut. Kakashi wasn't the least surprised to find the patient in the room none other than Kushina who was in the middle of labor, but Kakashi was surprised to know that there weren't any nurses or doctors in the room.

There was only a 5 year old Kagome.

The raven haired girl was standing next to Kushina, speaking words of encouragement to her while the red haired beauty screamed at the top of her lungs, her knuckles deathly white as she gripped the bed sheets. Kushina's face was covered in sweat and she looked utterly and completely in pain.

"Why is there no one around?" Sakura asked worriedly.

As one of the best medic Ninja in Konoha, Sakura felt rather helpless that she couldn't do anything to ease Kushina's pain because she wasn't really there, and asking Sasuke was the least she could do to distract her from Kushina's screaming.

"They're all on the front lines healing the injured, and Kagome was visiting Kushina when she went into labor," her husband replied quietly.

Sakura looked down on the ground, her fists clenched and she tried to drown out the sound of Kushina's screaming. Her lower lip trembled and she tried not to shake, but it was hard to do so. She could do nothing but watch and she felt really horrible inside.

The sound of a baby wailing snapped her out of her thoughts and Sakura looked up to stare incredulously at the bed.

Kagome was carrying the source of the wailing in her arms, and from what Sakura could see, the baby was covered from head to toe in blood. Kagome then brought the baby to a basin of water and began washing the blood off, while at the same time trying to get the baby to stop crying. And as Sakura looked at the baby, with his cerulean blue eyes and small tufts of blond hair, she couldn't help but feel a growing sense of excitement bubbling in the pits of her stomach.

Naruto was born! Naruto was born!!!!

"Kagome-chan, let me see my baby," Kushina's tired voice sounded out, causing Sakura to look in her direction. And as she stared at Kushina, her green eyes widened in shock and the excitement she felt over Naruto's birth quickly withered away.

_Blood._ There was so much blood. Kushina had lost so much blood……

Kagome's soft reply of 'yes' snapped Sakura out of her stupor and she watched with a tight pain constricting her chest as Kagome walked over to Kushina, who was now deathly pale. She wouldn't last much longer at this rate…Sakura knew that the end was near for the red haired beauty because of the amount of blood she lost, and even if there were medics around now, they wouldn't be able to so anything more to save her.

Kagome stood beside Kushina with Naruto in her arms and there was a look of sorrow on her face as she glanced over at the bloodstained bed sheets before turning back to Kushina, her face now looking happy. Sakura came to a realization that Kagome knew Kushina was dying, and that she was trying not to show her sadness.

Kushina reached out her hand slowly and she gently caressed her baby's cheek.

This action caused Naruto to open his eyes and Kushina smiled in delight as she saw that he had Minato's eyes. In fact, her baby looked so much like his father. Tears of happiness ran down her cheeks as her baby giggled at the sight his mother. This was her baby. This was her and Minato's baby. This was the symbol of their love, of their undying pledge for each other. This was the one that spent 9 months in her womb, kicking her, moving inside of her, eating everything she ate, drinking everything that she drank.

This was… "Naruto…" Kushina said her son's name breathlessly before her hand slid back down on the bed.

As she watched her baby, a tired laugh escaped her lips, making Kagome look at her in confusion along with Sakura. "Kushina-san?" she asked and found herself staring into the piercing green eyes of Uzumaki Kushina.

"All this effort to come into this world, only to suffer for the rest of his life," she mumbled softly.

Kagome cocked her head to the side, not understanding what Kushina was implying. "Do you know what Minato is going to do to Naruto?" she asked and Kagome shook her head. "He's going to seal the Kyuubi into him… And I let Minato do this."

At her statement Kagome let out a small gasp. Even Sakura was surprised. What did she mean?

Kushina smiled wryly and she continued "I'm the cause of Naruto's suffering," her fists clenched as she said this "I found out about Minato's plan from the start, and I knew… that if I asked him not to do, he would have gladly dropped the fight, abandoned Konoha and faced dishonor to save Naruto from that… So I didn't say a word."

Her green eyes met Kagome's blue ones again, and she asked softly "Does that make me a horrible mother?"

Kagome didn't look away from her stare, and instead she replied "You did what you thought was for the best Kushina-san, and for that I don't believe you're a horrible person." Kushina's eyes widened slightly at Kagome's answer and a ghost of a smile flickered across her face.

"I see…Thank you," she breathed before she slumped back onto the bed.

She felt exhausted, but she fought to stay awake. She didn't want to rest now; at least not until she said what she wanted to say. "Kagome-chan," she began tiredly "Please tell Minato that I love him, and that it's up to him now to take care of Naruto and make sure that he lives through the sealing. And tell him…tell him I regret nothing." Kagome nodded solemnly and Kushina sighed, her eyes now unfocused as she stared at some empty space as if there were something there.

She smiled sadly, her expression delirious and her eyes blinked with unshed tears.

"Minato…" she mumbled, her eyes closing slowly "I'm sorry…I wish we could have spent more time together…" Her voice sounded absolutely heartbreaking as she said that and Kagome had to bite her lips hard in order to prevent herself from crying out. Her blue eyes brimmed with tears as she watched Kushina's hand intently reach out for something that wasn't there. But after a second or two Kushina's hand slowly slid back on the bed and the red haired woman took a final sigh before everything went still.

Sakura looked away from the heartbreaking scene, her whole body trembling and she didn't protest when Sasuke stealthily wrapped his arms around her, bringing her closer to him. Rather, she buried herself in Sasuke's chest, feeling more useless than ever.

She only looked up when she heard the window slide open, and her heart gave a tight squeeze when she saw that it was a teenaged Kakashi.

He was donned his ANBU gear, right down to the animal mask over his face but Sakura instantly knew it was him because of his outrageously colored hair and the fact that he had been her sensei for so long. As she watched him, she heard the adult Kakashi standing not too far away from her sigh softly.

The teenaged Kakashi's eyes traveled around the room, scanning the situation but he froze and stared in numb shock at the still body of the woman who had been like a mother to him in these couple of years. He couldn't sense any chakra from her… She couldn't be… "Kagome…?" he began, his voice trying not to crack "I-is she…?" he stopped, not daring to finish the sentence. The young girl turned around and there was a look of absolute pain on her face accompanied by the silent tears that wouldn't stop flowing.

"Kakashi…" she breathed his name "I couldn't do anything to save her!" she whispered guiltily before breaking out into sobs. The sudden noise caused Naruto to wake up and he cried in protest, not liking the commotion at all.

Kakashi watched the crying Naruto and Kagome for a while as he wondered what to do. Without another word he strode over to Kagome and kneeled down because she only reached to his waist. Then he wrapped his arms around her, making sure not to squash Naruto and bringing her close to him. At first, Kagome froze at his embrace but after a moment she leaned into his body, taking in the comfort he was giving her. Kakashi brought his hand to the back of her head and began stroking her hand in a soothing manner.

'_I know sensei wanted me to get Naruto, but…right now… this is more important,_' he thought silently as he listened to Kagome's sobs.

* * *

It took a good 10 minutes before Kakashi could get Kagome to stop crying.

And when she did, Kakashi didn't waste any time taking Naruto from her arms. Sensei needed him. NOW. A shocked look made its way on Kagome's tear stained face as he took Naruto and she asked him in alarm "Where are you taking Naruto-chan?"

"Sensei needs him," he replied swiftly before jumping out the window.

Or at least he attempted to jump, because at the last moment Kagome had grabbed onto his legs, causing them both to fall through the third story window and down to the hospital ground below. A shocked cry escaped Sakura's lips as she watched Kakashi, Kagome and Naruto tumble out of the window. She struggled out of Sasuke's embrace and rushed to the window ledge, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw them safe on the ground. Fortunately they didn't appear to be hurt from the fall.

But they all would have died from the fall if not for Kakashi's quick acting.

He had grabbed Kagome and secured his grip on Naruto before maneuvering in mid air, making him land them safely on the ground. Then he dumped Kagome unceremoniously on the ground, ignoring her indignant cry of protest.

"What the hell was that for Kagome?! You could have gotten us all killed!" he yelled harshly.

The young girl winced at his tone before she told him silently "I promised Kushina-san that I would watch over Naruto for her. And I need to see Minato-san. I have to tell him what Kushina-san told me," she finished and Kakashi shook his head.

"It's too dangerous. Why don't you tell me so I can pass it on to sensei?" he suggested.

Kagome shook her head and Kakashi sighed deeply. "Look, you either pass the message onto me or you don't get in my way. Go and hide somewhere safe instead. The battlefield is no place for a child," he concluded. Kagome frowned at him, wondering how she was going to convince him before she froze, a startled expression on her face "Something bad is heading this way," she mumbled. Kakashi blinked and reached out for her "Kagome, are you all right?" he asked but she never answered him.

Instead, she dashed past Kakashi and the startled ANBU turned around after her, cursing when he saw the problem.

A flaming fireball laced with chakra from the Kyuubi was headed towards them and Kagome was dashing towards it. "Damn it Kagome!" he yelled hastily. "Don't be stupid and RUN!" But she ignored him and Kakashi was unsure whether to just flee from there or rescue her. But he didn't need to as a pink light started to surround Kagome. She lifted up her hands and a barrier formed, disintegrating the fireball. Kakashi stared at her with his mouth wide open in shock behind in ANBU mask.

"How did she…?" Sakura's voice trailed off in shock.

Like the teenaged Kakashi, her mouth was wide open because she found it impossible that a 5 year old girl would be able to do something like that. Sasuke walked forward and stood beside her, his eyes also on the scene. There was no surprise on his face, and there also wasn't any on the adult Kakashi's either.

"Do you know where Kagome lived from the day she left Konoha with Itachi?" Kakashi asked her calmly.

Sakura nodded "…A…shrine right?" And at her answer Kakashi nodded before continuing "Kagome was born with unnaturally pure spiritual energy because her mother descended from a long line of priests and priestesses. So when she left Konoha with him, she lived in a shrine to cultivate her powers."

"But she's only 5 now," Sakura stated "She doesn't leave in another 8 more years."

Kakashi creased his eye in amusement "That doesn't mean she isn't able to use her spiritual energy. Her mother had all these old scrolls that were passed down from one generation to the next about spiritual training. But she didn't have the pure spiritual energy that Kagome had, so she passed it to her. And I remember all those times when Kagome would find me and my team, asking us how to read this word and that word. Then sometimes she would even try it out while we watched."

"Her mother actually let her do all that?" Sakura asked in surprise.

"In the beginning…no. But after Kagerou died she didn't want anymore of her family to die, so she made Kagome promise that she would never be a Kunoichi. So when Kagome took an interest in being a priestess instead, Kun Loon let her because the death rate for people in her line of work was very low," Sasuke explained. "Also, Kagome found a loophole in the promise she made with her mother about not becoming a Kunoichi. No one ever said anything about picking up the skills of a Kunoichi without becoming one."

Sakura nodded as she listened, a thoughtful look on her face.

But she looked back to the scene when she heard Kagome speaking. "I can take care of myself Kakashi-kun. So let me go with you! I need to see Minato-san!" she pleaded. Kakashi paused, unsure at first, but as he stared at Kagome, he made up his mind.

"You're too young Kagome. I won't let you get hurt," he told her before using the Shunshin no Jutsu, disappearing along with Naruto.

Kagome could only stare at the swirl of smoke that lay in his wake and she looked angry. "Stupid scarecrow!" she cursed and closed her eyes, trying to pinpoint his and Naruto's aura. When she found it, she smiled in triumph and quickly ran through the trees, off to where they were headed. Sakura watched her depart and she turned to Sasuke. "Do we have to follow them?" she asked and the Uchiha paused for a moment to think before he shook his head.

"No," he replied simply before the background started to swirl around them.

* * *

Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi had appeared somewhere in the forest and Sakura stared in wonder at the creature that towered over them. She had heard stories about the Kyuubi and read about it in Konoha's history, but now she could see that the texts were a far cry from the actual thing.

The Kyuubi no Youko was much taller than some of the tallest trees in Konoha, and it was a sight to behold.

Saliva dribbled down its extra sharp teeth and its red eyes gleamed threateningly under the moonlight. The ground trembled as it stomped around and the winds blew strongly as all of its nine tails flickered around. The sinister chakra was suffocating and it rolled off the Kyuubi in waves.

Sakura suppressed a shiver and she breathed "How horrible…"

Sasuke nodded "The Kyuubi can cause much more destruction if it wanted to…" he mumbled before everything in the memory seemed to freeze. Sakura thought that the situation was rather similar to clicking the pause button on a video. Sasuke then turned to his ex-teacher "Kakashi…do you really want to relive this experience again?" he asked, a surprisingly gentle tone to his voice. The Copy Ninja closed his revealed eye as he answered calmly "I'm fine Sasuke."

The Uchiha nodded solemnly before the memory resumed again and this time, the ground trembled once again as Minato arrived on the head of his largest Toad summon, Gamabunta.

Minato was too far up for Sakura to see him. She watched silently, a growing sense of dread in her guts, as Minato formed the hand seals that would summon the Shinigami. After a while, a bright light enveloped Minato and Sakura heard the Kyuubi shriek before the noise grew fainter and fainter. Soon the bright light died out and Sakura watched in horror as Gamabunta disappeared in a puff of smoke, making Minato drop a few hundred feet to the ground.

"The fall's going to kill him sooner!" she turned and yelled to her husband as the Hokage plummeted to the ground.

Sasuke didn't even blink "Just watch," he told her calmly and Sakura resumed her attention to Minato. Just when it seemed that Minato was going to suffer from a very nasty fall, something quick appeared from the trees and caught Minato safely in his arms. The teenaged Kakashi placed Minato gently on the ground and put his teacher's head on his lap. Sakura could see that the blond haired man was very pale and he probably wouldn't last more than 5 minutes.

"Sensei…" she heard him mutter in a pained voice "You're a moron you know that?"

Minato smiled weakly as he grasped Kakashi's hand in his own "Sorry Kakashi-kun, but I had no other choice," his voice sounded terribly weak and Sakura struggled against the urge to cry. Even though she had only seen Minato from these few memories, she was already drawn to the blond haired Hokage and it was already very apparent that he would have made an excellent father. _No_, she corrected herself, _both Minato and Kushina would have made very good parents for Naruto_.

There was a rustle in the bushes and Kakashi flinched, his piercing gaze landing on the person that had squeezed through. He was ready to take out all his frustration and anger on the next Ninja that he came across, but he could only blink in surprise when it was Kagome that had appeared.

"Kagome!" he all but yelled "I told you not to follow me!"

The raven haired girl ignored his shouts and she instead ran over to them, kneeling beside Minato, who was breathing very slowly now. "Minato-san," she whispered softly to the dying man, placing her small hand over his and Kakashi's.

Blue eyes met blue and Minato smiled weakly "Hi Kagome-chan," he breathed softly.

She returned his smile with a weak one of her own and Minato asked tiredly "How's Kushina?" When Kakashi had arrived with Naruto, he had told his teacher nothing concerning the condition of his red haired wife, and had stated that he took Naruto out of the nursery.

Kagome blinked at Minato, unsure of what to tell him; that is…until she met Kakashi's gaze.

He had pulled down his mask and mouthed to her silently '_Lie to him. Please._' His eyes held such desperation that Kagome found it hard to deny him of his request. But a pained look crossed her face and it was clear to Sakura what the young girl's reply was.

'I _can't._'

The teenaged Kakashi watched her pained expression intently before closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, looking away. He could not bear to see his sensei break. Kagome didn't dare to look at Kakashi anymore and she instead focused her attention on the blond.

"Kushina-san…she told me to tell you that she regretted nothing," she said quietly.

Minato blinked wearily at the young girl for a few seconds before the implications of her words started to sink in. A sense of dread began to cloud his senses '_That sentence was in the past tense…meaning that…Kushina is…_' his eyes grew wide and if it were possible, he grew even paler.

'_Dead._' he thought disbelievingly.

Minato couldn't stop the tears that escaped out of his eyes "It can't be…No…" he mumbled softly, but the volume didn't hide the pain in his voice._ 'No no no no no no no no no no no no no no…_' Minato felt his heart shred to pieces, and he knew it would never be whole again.

Kagome hung her head low and she whispered "I'm sorry…"

A soft sob escaped Minato's lips before it broke out into a cough and he continued to cough, only stopping when blood trickled out of his mouth. "Minato-san!" Kagome exclaimed worriedly and she squeezed his hand tighter.

Minato knew that his life was barely hanging on by a thread now, so he needed to say what he wanted; or else it would be too late…

"Kakashi-kun," he called out to his student. His student turned back and looked intently into his teacher's eyes "Yes sensei?" he asked quietly and Minato smiled painfully "Thank you… for trying to protect me…" he told him gently and Obito's eye started to tear up "Try not to get into too much trouble after I'm gone and watch out for Rin, Kagome and Naruto…"

The younger Kakashi nodded solemnly while the older one watched the scene with a pained eye. '_Sensei…_' they both thought.

Minato's weak gaze landed on Kagome and he smiled gently at her, despite the fact that he felt the opposite of what he was showing. But he couldn't…no he wouldn't let them see him die like that. He had to die with a smile; that was his way of telling them that, even if he was dying, and even if he died, it was all right. It was going to be all right…

"Kagome-chan," he called her name he placed his other hand above hers.

The young girl leaned closer to him, her ear just inches away from his mouth. Sakura watched as Minato mumbled a few inaudible words in her ear and Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. She looked at him again and nodded desperately, tears flowing freely from her eyes now. Minato's lips arched into a delicate smile for the last time and he closed his eyes.

A few seconds later his hand slowly slipped away…

Kagome watched his fallen hand in shock and she cried even harder when Minato stopped breathing. She clutched at his flak jacket and pressed her face against it, using it to muffle her sobs. Meanwhile the younger Kakashi stared down at his sensei's peaceful face in shock for a moment before his lower lip trembled. "Sensei…" he breathed and leaned down, burying his face into Minato's cloak. He inhaled the blond man's familiar scent and he felt as if his heart was crushed.

But still Kakashi couldn't bring himself to cry.

* * *

Kagome and Kakashi did not leave Minato's side at all. The two of them instead continued to grieve for the blonde man's death during the next half hour and Sakura watched them patiently, not once speaking to Sasuke or her ex-sensei.

By now, Kagome had stopped crying and she gently held Minato's hand, trying to ignore how cold his skin felt.

She also tried to ignore how pale the man looked in death, or that he was even dead. She tried to imagine him with his skin still tan and warm, and that he was only sleeping. But she knew in her heart that Minato was not sleeping; he was dead and he was never coming back.

The knowledge stung and her grip on the man's hand tightened.

Kagome could only imagine that Kakashi was feeling worse since he knew the man longer. Her eyes flickered over to the said scarecrow. Kakashi had sat up again, and he was gently running his hand through Minato's soft hair. His eyes were focused solely on the man in front of him and he refused to pay attention to anything else.

So Kagome didn't even try to speak with him.

Kakashi looked up when he heard some of the cheering over the Kyuubi's defeat coming from the Ninja that were not too far away from them. And suddenly he felt a spark of anger in him. "How could they…?" he mumbled quietly, causing Kagome to look at him in confusion.

"How could they celebrate when Sensei is _dead_?" he hissed.

"They don't know," she replied instantly, "They haven't come looking for us yet. So they don't know that Minato-san is…" she didn't finish her sentence and Kakashi's other hand clenched tightly. He looked back down at the pale man lying on his lap and they lapsed into silence again.

The silence was only broken after a few minutes when there was some rustling in the bushes.

Kakashi looked up just in time to see Sarutobi appear, followed by Jiraiya and a few hordes of Ninja. He blinked at the Toad Sage; he didn't know the man had returned to Konoha. Maybe he arrived during the chaos of the Kyuubi attack, so that was probably why Kakashi wasn't aware. Sarutobi looked grim as he and his student made their way over to Kakashi and Kagome. The Ninja remained where they were and a soft murmuring broke out among them when they saw Minato.

"Sarutobi-sama," Kakashi and Kagome both greeted quietly when they were near.

Sarutobi opened his mouth to speak, but Jiraiya cut him off. "Kakashi…" he said the teenager's name quietly "Is Minato…?" his voice trailed off as he stared at his blonde student. He already knew his answer the moment he appeared in the clearing and wasn't able to sense Minato's chakra, but he refused to believe it. He hoped that he was wrong, he hoped that his senses were haywire, and most of all, he hoped that his remaining student was still alive.

Kakashi looked away "He's dead."

His heart broke in two. A pained look appeared on his face and he turned away, moaning softly to himself. He placed his hand over his face and Kakashi could distinctly see the glistening tears trailing down the man's striped cheeks under the moonlight. The other Ninja started to whisper even louder once they noticed Jiraiya's behavior, and Sakura could hear their words loud and clear.

'_Yondaime is dead._ _Yondaime is dead!_'

Sarutobi looked at Minato's body for a few moments before he spoke "I will take up the mantle for Hokage once again," he announced to the Ninja. "And Jiraiya, pull yourself together. Now is not the time for grief. I need you to take his body and bring it to somewhere safe. Make sure you assign guards before you come and meet me in my office," he told his student softly.

Jiraiya hastily wiped the tear marks from his cheeks and he nodded slowly, before he made his way to Minato's body.

"May I?" he asked in a pained tone to both Kakashi and Kagome, and the young girl nodded before releasing her grip on Minato's hand. Kakashi held his hands away and when Jiraiya gently picked up his student's body, the teenager whispered "Keep him safe."

And as Jiraiya disappeared with Minato's body, Sasuke said "It's time for the next memory."

* * *

The three of them appeared in a hospital room next, where there was only a bed with a baby Naruto in it.

Sakura made her way to the bed and she smiled sadly at how cute Naruto looked, even if he did have whisker like markings on his cheeks. Naruto couldn't see her, and his blue eyes traveled hungrily around the room. But once he saw that he was alone, his lower lip trembled and he started to cry.

Sakura reeled back in surprise and she turned to her husband "What do we do?!" she asked in a panicked tone.

Sasuke stared calmly at her "Nothing," he said simply and Sakura gaped "B-but he's crying!" she protested and Sasuke gave her a cool stare "We won't be able to do anything even if he is crying. We can't even touch him," he told her as a matter-of-factly. Sakura's cheeks flushed red and she turned her attention back to Naruto, who was still crying.

She heard the door click open and saw Kagome coming in with a bottle of milk in her hand.

"Sarutobi-sama gave me permission to come in here and feed him," she called out to no one in particular, or at least Sakura had thought so until she heard a grunt of acknowledgement outside before someone spoke, causing her to jump in surprise.

"How did you know I'm here?" the voice asked curiously.

"Because your aura said so Kakashi-kun. You can hide your chakra but not your aura," Kagome said simply and waited for an answer. "Who gave you the bottle of milk? It'd better not be poisoned," Kakashi asked after a while.

"I made the milk myself and I checked for poison," she replied and waited.

"Go ahead," the voice outside said after a few moments of silence. The raven haired girl nodded and made her way to Naruto and she climbed onto the bed. She gently picked up Naruto and the blonde haired baby stopped crying once he saw who it was and he reached out his hand, touching her cheek in an affectionate gesture. Sakura frowned when she noticed how sad Kagome looked; something was wrong, terribly wrong.

"I'm sure you must be pretty hungry, Naru-chan," she said simply before placing the bottle of milk to Naruto's lips. The baby suckled on the bottle eagerly and noisily, causing Kagome's smile to grow even sadder. There was definitely something wrong.

"Naru-chan, do you know something?" Kagome said quietly after a while.

The baby still continued to suck at the bottle, oblivious to everything around him. "We're the same now," she said, causing Sakura to blink in confusion. The same? What did she mean? She couldn't possibly mean that they were both Jinchuuriki now. The idea would be unfathomable.

"We don't have anyone anymore. Our families are dead," she continued, and Sakura blinked in realization.

"I just found out Okaa-san and Souta are dead," she mumbled in a dead tone, looking down at the Naruto who was still sucking noisily on the milk. "They died because they got crushed by some of the falling buildings when they were trying to get to shelter during the Kyuubi attack." Sakura looked at the raven haired girl with sympathy and honestly couldn't relate to the situation because even though she was 20, both of her parents were still happy and alive and yet here was this 5 year old girl who had no one left to take care of her.

There was a breeze by the window and Kagome looked just in time to see the teenaged Kakashi enter. He looked tenderly at the small girl who suddenly seemed very, very young and he said softly "I'm sorry about your family."

Kagome didn't mind the fact that he eavesdropped on her conversation.

She only looked at him sadly with her blue eyes. "I feel pain over their deaths but I can't cry," she confessed. "I think I must have used up all my tears when Minato-san died," she mumbled the last bit out and turned away from his gaze, half expecting him to chide her for her silliness. Kakashi stared at her in silence before he replied "I can't cry at all. Not since Father died. I couldn't even cry when sensei…" his voice trailed off; he still found it hard to speak about his sensei's death.

Kagome looked out of the window and saw the sun starting to rise. "Are you going for Minato-san's funeral?" she asked him quietly "Because the ceremony's about to start." Kakashi looked out of the window as well and a few moments passed before he replied "I'm under obligation to go."

"Then can I come with you?" she asked him in an innocent tone. "We can even take Naru-chan as well."

Kakashi looked at her intently when she had said that last part out and he expected Kagome to squirm under his gaze. But surprisingly she looked him straight in the eye and said "Naruto has every right to go to his father's funeral."

Kakashi sighed softly and looked away "I suppose you're right," he mumbled.

"Come on, I'll take you," he told her and Kagome slowly got out of the bed. By now, Naruto had finished his milk and he giggled happily at Kakashi, who only managed a weak smile back in return. "Give Naruto to me and get on my back. I'll manage," he said when he saw that she was about to protest. Kagome nodded obediently and she handed Naruto to Kakashi. Once making sure the young Ninja was holding the baby right she got on his back, trying not to blush when she realized how close in proximity the two of them were.

And without another word Kakashi took off from the window, just as the sun started to peek over the horizon.

* * *

By the time the 3 members of the old Team 7 appeared at the funeral, it had already started.

Sakura could see many of the people were dressed in black, and most of them were crying. The atmosphere at this funeral was a lot worse than the atmosphere at Third Hokage's funeral, probably because a lot more people had died.

And Sakura could only stare when she made out a familiar face in the mourning crowd.

The young face of her old Chunin teacher was a surprise to her; because Sakura had never seen Iruka look so _young_ before. She had never seen him dressed in anything other than his standard uniform, and she had also never seen him cry so miserably as he did now. In fact she had never seen him cry at all. Sakura almost couldn't bear to look away, but she did when she noticed the crowd had suddenly gone very quiet, and that they were all staring at something.

She looked in the direction of their stare, and were surprised to find them glaring at Kakashi, Kagome and Naruto, who had just only arrived.

Angry mutterings suddenly broke out among the crowd and not even the presence of the Third Hokage could calm them down. "What is _that_ _thing_ doing here?!" were one of the most common shouts, and Sakura could only glare heatedly at some of the people who had yelled it.

But she was unable to do more.

"_That thing_ has no right to be here!" another yelled and a man from the crowd yelled "Kill that MONSTER now! It shouldn't even be allowed to live!" Kagome looked slightly frightened at the angry crowd, and she hastily hid behind Kakashi's leg with Naruto when some of the people moved forward.

Kakashi pushed up his Hitae-ate and glared at the angry crowd with his blood red Sharingan.

"Those who wish to get Naruto will have to go through _me_," he hissed in a voice so venomous that some of the people moved back while the others dared not proceed forward. And Sakura looked at the young Kakashi with half admiration, half fear.

"Enough!" the Third Hokage finally yelled and instantly the noises died out.

He looked solemnly at the crowd before looking to Kakashi and Kagome. "Perhaps it's best for everyone if you take Naruto and leave this place. Jiraiya, escort them away," he said to his ex-student and the man nodded gravely after he looked in old teacher straight in the eyes.

"Of course," he replied and made his way through the crowd to the three of them.

On the way, Rin joined him and he welcomed her with a sad smile. When the two of them got to Kakashi, the young man gazed back defiantly at the Toad Sage. But when Rin gripped softly on his arms, he looked into her pleading eyes for a few seconds before he looked away and nodded, pulling the Hitae-ate over his Sharingan.

Then he turned around and said to Kagome softly "Let's go."

The young girl nodded and together the four of them made their way away from the funeral, and from the barbaric crowd. They were headed in the direction of the hospital, and Sakura supposed that they were going to bring Naruto back. But along the way, Jiraiya made a turn that was in the complete opposite direction of the hospital, and Rin stared at him in confusion. "Umm…Jiraiya-sama," she said meekly, "The hospital is the other way."

The toad Sage nodded and he cracked a small smile "Who said we were going back to the hospital?"

"Then where are we going?" she asked and the man replied in a sad voice "We're going over to Minato's burial." And once he saw the confusion on their faced he decided to elaborate a little "The funeral you saw before was only just an empty coffin. Minato will be buried somewhere secret to protect his body from enemies, like all the other Hokage's before him. He will be…buried with Kushina and I think that they would like to say a final goodbye to you all."

A few moments of silence passed between them before Kakashi finally spoke "Those people at the funeral…I feel like taking a Kunai and stabbing it through their hearts, just to see whether their blood is black or not," he said in a tone that barely concealed his rage.

"Kakashi," the man admonished "Don't think like that. They were only mourning for Minato."

The young ANBU looked intently into Jiraiya's eyes "Those people are not mourning for Minato-sensei. They are only mourning for their leader and also for their own personal selfish reasons. They didn't know him and they never will," he spat out.

"Why do you say that?" Jiraiya asked coolly.

"Because they hate Naruto," Kagome said softly, and Rin nodded in agreement "Kagome's right. They despise Naruto, and if they really did know Minato-sensei, if they really cared for him, then they would not be doing and saying such things."

Jiraiya nodded at the three of them, impressed at their reasoning.

By now they had arrived at the site that Minato and Kushina were to be buried at; it was somewhere secluded and so endowed with Jutsu and wards that no Ninja would be able to enter unless he were a friend or highly skilled. The landscape around that area was beautiful, and Sakura was sure that when spring came the area would be surrounded with flowers. There were two coffins lying side by side, and unlike the elaborate coffin that Sakura had seen at the funeral, the two coffins were a simple mahogany in color.

Minato and Kushina lay quietly in their respective coffins, and Kagome shifted uncomfortably with Naruto in her arms. The Minato and Kushina that she knew were never quiet. The two of them were both so full of life and happy and in love.

But they were dead now. And the thought of that just left a horrible churning in her stomach.

Minato was still as pale as when Kagome had last seen him, and he was dressed in what would have been his wedding Kimono. His kimono was black in color and his blond hair seemed brighter than ever against it. Kushina was decked in beautiful kimono that was a pigment blue in color. Patterns of whirlpools, fishes and the ocean could be seen on the Kimono. And Kagome had no doubt that Kushina requested this design in memory of her former home, the Whirlpool Country.

"Minato-san," Kagome mumbled softly '_Don't worry; I will keep my promise to you._'

Kakashi who was standing beside her clenched his fists tightly and he found it difficult to stare his dead sensei in the face. His stomach churned uncomfortably and he could feel the bile rising up his throat but he refused to get sick.

"Sensei…I hate you…" he murmured "I hate you for breaking down my barriers…making my care about you… only to leave me in the end."

Sarutobi and Jiraiya watched the young ANBU carefully while Rin tried not to cry. She had already done it when she found out about her sensei's death. She had cried and cried and cried as she remembered the way Minato's eyes sparkled every time he smiled, how he was kind to everyone, all the little habits he had.

Her heart ached.

She leaned against Kakashi, half expecting him to recoil in disgust at the contact but to her immense surprise and relief he let her lean against him, and he even leaned against her, with his cheek touching the top of her forehead.

The older Kakashi stared at her with a certain longing in his eye as he remembered what it had felt like when he had done that. And Sakura stared at the two coffins with a dull ache in her heart. Sasuke took one look at his wife before he reached out his hand and draped it across her shoulders, bringing the pink haired Kunoichi closer to him. Sakura didn't recoil from his embrace and she only buried her head into his chest, breathing in his scent quietly.

Jiraiya made his way towards the coffin and he trembled slightly when closed Minato's, but nevertheless he managed to do it. Then with a whispered Earth Jutsu, the earth around the coffins slowly encompassed it and soon only two mounds remained.

Then Sarutobi and Jiraiya started to leave. Rin did as well because, and only Kakashi stayed behind with Kagome.

He had to make sure that Naruto was brought back to the hospital safe and sound. Kagome dug through her pockets and she pulled out an iris, and without another word she gave the iris to Naruto, who grabbed the pretty flower with a delighted smile on his lips. Then Kagome walked up to the graves with Naruto in her arms and she made him let go of the iris. She watched as the flower landed atop the graves and smiled sadly when Naruto blinked at her with his innocent blue eyes.

"These are your parents, Naru-chan," she gently whispered to the baby in her arms who was too young to really understand what was going on around him. Kagome then remembered Minato's expression every time they felt Naruto moving inside Kushina; how proud the red haired beauty looked when her son was born.

She was finally crying. "And they really loved you."

End chapter

* * *

Thank you Shiori Yume, disneyrulz23, Reads-way-2-much, Kagome Miko207, Sugar0o, Stebba stud28, Kuronueslover, Sinistera of the Akatsuki, Demonic Cho, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Binnybai, Sapphire Destiny Rose, cowgirlkitten2000, SnowBlizzard, livve101, akatsuki-cloude, hotshorty, XxKuragari-no-KagexX, kinky-kitsune, InuYashaAndNarutolover, Haruna Uchiha, Watashi No Sukinahito, o0KittyBlue0o, Inochi N- f.O.G, Peaceful Dragon Rose, Kaelin The Black Swan, KarateGirl654, ILoveAnime89, whit and xXKitsune QueenXx for reviewing!

First off, has it really been 5 months? O.o

Wow I am seriously sorry about that. I didn't expect this chapter to take me this long. And this has got to be the longest chapter that I have done so far. Ever. Over 7800 words! The next chapter will not take as long as this, I hope, because near the end of this year I have my fate deciding exams.

About this chapter… I have finally done what I have been dreading to do since I first watched Naruto. I have killed Minato and Kushina… T_T

It was evil of me wasn't it? Well I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill them off again in another story as well, and I'll leave it to you to guess which one. I didn't put the deaths of Kagome's mother and brother in because that would mean she would have to see them die.

And I believe that no child, especially a 5 year old, should have to see the death of their family.

The funeral scene was inspired by reading chapter 36 'Aftermath' from the story '100 Situations' by Alycone23. I suggest you read the whole story because it is seriously good. It's on my favorites list if you want to find it.

The next chapter will be about bits and pieces of Kagome's childhood as she grows up.

Please review!


	13. Chapter 12

Love Actually

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 12

Sakura watched Kagome with a sad look in her green eyes when she noticed the tears that were cascading down the raven haired girl's cheeks. Kagome's gaze was still on the graves of the two people who had been somewhat of second parents to her and her heart throbbed painfully at the thought that they were both _gone_.

Forever.

Little Naruto squirmed uncomfortably in her arms and his blue eyes glanced around for a few more seconds before a small cry finally erupted from his lips, informing those around him of his boredom. The teenaged Kakashi, who was standing not too far from where Kagome was slowly made his way to her side and he placed a comforting hand on the young girl's shoulder.

"Come on, it's time to go," he informed her softly.

Kagome nodded slowly and she stared at the graves for a while longer before she turned to follow after him, with Naruto still squirming in her arms. The scene dissolved in front of their eyes and Sakura found her standing in the familiar white world of Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan.

She turned to her husband and waited expectantly for him to give her a brief rundown on what memory they were going to see next.

"…After the Kyuubi attack Kagome had nowhere to go so my family decided to take her in," Sasuke began in a low tone and Sakura listened with rapt attention when she realized that Sasuke wasn't going to show them a memory yet. He was summarizing how Kagome spent her childhood because it would probably take too long to show them everything about it. "She lived with us and helped take care of me when my mother was busy but on most days she helped my mother with the housework."

Sasuke paused as he shifted his eyes carefully from Kakashi to Sakura.

"She didn't go to the academy because she had promised her mother she wouldn't become a Kunoichi, and you know that with Kagome's stubbornness she always makes sure she keeps a promise," he sounded amused as he said that.

"But that didn't stop her from learning the techniques though, as I've said before. Itachi would give her a brief rundown on what they learned at the academy everyday and sometimes if they were free they would practice together. They were both really coordinated with each other's movements when they sparred," he added as an afterthought, recalling some moments where he witnessed Itachi and Kagome practicing in the backyard while he watched them with awed eyes.

He always thought that the two of them looked more like they were doing some sort of beautiful dance rather than actual sparring.

He cleared his throat when he noticed that he had been lost in his thoughts. "Anyway, the next memory takes place when Kagome's nine years old. She's meeting you," he pointed to Kakashi, who stared calmly back, "and Rin for lunch at Ichiraku Ramen."

And with that said the white world swirled around them and a new memory appeared in its wake.

The three of them were standing in front of the Ichiraku Ramen Bar and Sakura didn't notice any difference in the stall; it looked exactly the same as it did in the future. She eyed the people walking past the stall hoping that she could perhaps recognize some of them since in this time she would be like…what around 4? Sakura almost squeaked in surprise when a child ran _through_ her; she still wasn't used to her being something akin to a ghost in this world.

It was creepy, to say the least.

"Here she comes now," Sasuke informed them calmly, and Sakura turned her head in the direction where he was looking to. She blinked in surprise when she took note of the girl walking towards the Ramen Bar. In the last memory that she had seen Kagome in, the young girl only reached until slightly above her waist. Also, she was constantly decked in brightly coloured dresses and Sakura supposed that it was Kun Loon who had picked them out for her.

Now, at 9, Kagome reached until Sakura's shoulders and her hair had also grown much longer.

Back then when she was still 5, her raven black hair had only reached a little past her shoulders and now it pooled down in untied dark strands until her waist. But perhaps the most significant change in Kagome was her choice of clothing; the girl now wore dark shirts and pants instead of the brightly coloured dresses of her childhood.

Sakura saw Kagome look back and stop, her blue eyes darting from place to place as if she were searching for something.

The raven haired girl sighed softly before closing her eyes for a moment, searching for a specific aura and when she found it, she opened her eyes again and disappeared around the corner. Roughly a minute later she reappeared, with her arm hooked around the arm of a certain Uchiha.

"How could you get lost Itachi?" Kagome asked him sceptically, "I thought you were supposed to be one of the best Ninja of your time?"

"I wasn't lost Kagome," Itachi replied smoothly, "I was merely distracted by some of the jewellery that was sold at the stall because I thought one of them might have made a suitable present for your birthday." Kagome faltered in her steps for a moment when she heard that and Sakura noticed a faint blush on the young girl's cheeks.

"Besides, Kakashi-san is always late so I don't see why you always find a need to be here on time," he continued on, oblivious to the look on Kagome's face.

"I know that…" the girl mumbled, "But I think its basic courtesy to show up at a meeting place on time, even if the person meeting us is late most of the time," she preached and by now her blush had subsided. "Besides, Rin always comes on time too, so I don't want to leave her alone to wait for Kakashi by herself…" her voice trailed off. Then she straightened up and looked seriously into his eyes, "And also, I told you that you didn't have to get me anything for my birthday right?" she asked.

He didn't reply.

The two of them entered the ramen stall and a wide smile appeared on Kagome's lips as she spotted a brown haired woman sitting next to a certain silver haired man "Rin!" she called out and they both turned around to face her, one with a smile on her face and another with his eye in a crease.

Kagome clutched her chest dramatically, her eyes lighting up in amusement.

"Can it be? You're actually early Kakashi!" she said in mock wonder and the Jounin shrugged nonchalantly, "Well I figured since we rarely meet up, today was too important of a day to let me be late for." His unveiled eye then shifted to the person standing next to her.

"Itachi-kun," he said politely with a nod while Rin greeted him brightly, "Hello there Itachi-kun!"

"Rin-san. Kakashi-san," Itachi acknowledged with a nod as well, although Sakura could detect a hint of iciness in his tone when he said Kakashi's name. Hmm that was strange…Sakura briefly wondered if she was just being overly suspicious. Itachi and Kagome then took a seat at the Ramen stand. Kagome sat on the other side of Kakashi and Itachi sat beside Kagome. The two of them placed their orders and struck up some light conversation as they waited for their food to be prepared.

"Here ya go," Teuchi began as he placed their bowls in front of them, "Enjoy!"

Itachi picked up his chopsticks and said a silent 'Itadakimasu' before he began to eat while Kagome only stared at her bowl, particularly at a certain swirly fishcake in her bowl. Kakashi stopped his conversation with Rin when he noticed her behaviour and he asked her gently, "What's wrong Kagome? Why aren't you eating?"

"It's just…" she began quietly, "Am I really not allowed to visit Naru-chan?"

Both Kakashi and Rin blinked at her question and the brown haired woman began gently, "Well…like I explained before Kagome-chan, Hokage-sama told us not to associate with him. He says that everyone has to leave him alone—" she was cut off when Kagome slammed her fists on her table.

The few conversations around the stall ceased at the noise and several heads turned their way.

"But if we do that Naru-chan will be lonely and sad!" Kagome protested and she turned to Kakashi with a pained look in her eyes, "We promised him didn't we? Before he died, we made a promise to Minato-san that we would take of Naru-chan! _Didn't_ we?"

Rin looked at her soup with a sad expression on her face while Itachi emotionlessly watched his friend.

Kakashi stared down at Kagome with an unreadable expression in his eye before he sighed softly. "We did promise Sensei," he told her softly and he placed a firm hand on her shoulder, effectively silencing her. "And as much as I would like to fulfil our promise to him, I can't. You know that Hokage-sama's words are _law_," he informed her strictly.

Kagome looked down at her soup again, a frown on her lips.

Kakashi's stern expression softened when Kagome refused to look at him, and instead she took a spoon and began stirring her soup. He extended his hand and placed it under her chin, before slowly pushing it up and making her look at him again.

He tried not to laugh at Kagome's sour expression.

"But…" he began in a gentle tone, and Kagome looked in his eyes again. She couldn't help but be curious; the way he looked at her slyly and the tone of his voice made her wonder what he wanted to tell her. "I don't see why you can't 'accidentally' run into Naruto on the streets and treat him to some ramen right? After all, it's only an accidental run in," he said with a small smile, and Sakura could see that his eye was twinkling in amusement.

Kagome lips curled upwards into a smile and she nodded enthusiastically before she began eating. "Right!"

* * *

The scene disappeared and Sakura turned to her ex-sensei with a small smile on her lips. "What you told her was kind of sweet actually," she told him gently and Kakashi turned away, thankful that his mask hid the small blush that was currently on his face.

"…"

The next memory that appeared showed Kagome and Kakashi in what Sakura guessed was Kakashi's apartment. The room was small; a small bed with a shuriken patterned comforter and a table with a picture of Kakashi's team. A small bookcase was situated in the corner of the apartment and Sakura could already see the first volume of Icha Icha Paradise planted there. "She's 10 now," Sasuke began as he stared at them "So that makes Kakashi about 19."

Kakashi about sat on his bed fixing on his ANBU armour while Kagome stood beside him, watching him expectantly.

"You're leaving for a few months to Snow Country?" she asked quietly. Kakashi paused in securing his arm guard and he nodded "Maybe longer. I'm sorry I can't tell you more about my mission except that," he replied and she shook her head slowly, "Its okay, I understand. If you want I can stop by once every few days and clean up your apartment. And I can even water Ukki-kun for you. That way it won't be in too much of a mess when you come home."

Kakashi hesitated "I wouldn't want to trouble you…" he voice trailed off.

Kagome shook her head. "It won't be. I don't mind." And when she saw Kakashi's still uncomfortable expression she sighed "Tell you what. If it makes you feel better when you come back you can pay me for cleaning up your apartment for you. Does that sound better?" she asked.

The determined expression in her blue eyes left little room for argument.

Kakashi sighed quietly, finally consenting before he resumed securing on his arm guard. Kagome sat down on his bed after a few moments of silence passed between them and she watched him for a while longer before she leaned against him. Kakashi froze slightly in surprise at her action but he did not push her away.

"Please be safe," she whispered.

Kakashi placed his hand atop her head and gently ruffled her hair. "Ah," he assured.

* * *

"We're in the Uchiha compound now. It's the backyard of my house," Sasuke informed them quietly as the next memory started to take place. Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi stood by the side where they watched an 11 year old Kagome sparring with Itachi. They were using only Taijutsu and there were no weapons in sight.

And for a girl that did not go to Ninja Academy, Sakura had to admit that Kagome was better than most Kunoichi her age.

"I told you they were really coordinated with each other's movements," Sasuke intoned and Sakura found herself unable to contain her surprise "Yeah you did," she agreed with wonder and her green eyes never once left the two sparring partners.

Kagome threw a punch and Itachi ducked with ease before he swept his leg out, with the intention of tripping her.

But Kagome seemed to anticipate that movement because she jumped back in time and twisted her body in midair so she landed on her hands before she used her hands to launch her backwards again. This movement was repeated several times and Itachi stood up quickly before he charged at her with his fists raised. He threw a punch at her and Kagome knocked his fist before she raised her knee, wanting to knee him in the chest but he blocked her with her free hand.

"It's almost…" Sakura began as she continued to watch.

"…Like they're dancing," Sasuke finished for her and she looked at him, surprised that he had said what she had been thinking about. He seemed to sense her surprise because he continued on "I thought that every time I watched them spar," he told her and pointed to the porch.

Sakura turned and saw a 6 year old Sasuke sitting on the porch, watching the two of them with awe.

His dark eyes shone with the immense love and respect that he felt for his big brother, and Sakura couldn't believe that years later this same boy with his love filled eyes would be the same one with eyes that shone with dark hatred and a thirst for revenge.

A gasp coming from the garden snapped her out of her thoughts and Sakura immediately looked to see what had happened.

Apparently during the sparring Kagome must have lost her balance and she had grabbed onto Itachi, hoping he would stabilize her. But instead, he had probably lost his balance as well and now she was spread eagled on the ground, with Itachi lying on top of her.

Kagome could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she realized how _close_ Itachi was to her.

She could feel his warm breath on her neck and she could feel his knee inches away from a _certain _part of her body. Itachi slowly got up and he asked her in a concerned tone "Are you all right Kagome? You're not hurt are you?" But he stopped when he noticed that his face was inches away from Kagome's own. They could each feel each other's warm breaths. Itachi's face slowly inched closer towards Kagome's and she did not protest nor fight back.

Instead her stunning blue eyes merely stared into Itachi's own onyx coloured ones.

Sakura watched the scene with wide eyes, her body unconsciously leaning in as well. God she only felt this type of anticipation from watching the main couple of a soap opera on television declare their love for each other! Only this time she actually knew the main characters. Itachi and Kagome were mere inches away from kissing each other when…

"Nii-san! Nee-san! Are you all right?" Sasuke's worried young voice sounded out.

Itachi and Kagome finally realized what they were doing and the Uchiha heir quickly got up, muttering a silent apology to her before assuring his brother that they weren't hurt. Kagome placed her hand over her chest, trying to calm her still pounding heart.

Just what had she been trying to do? It was Itachi! Itachi! Her best friend! She had been _this_ close to kissing her best friend! What was wrong with her?

Sakura stared at the scene with a growing sense of disappointment in her chest. She sighed deeply and wrung her hands with frustration. She had been THIS close in seeing Uchiha Itachi, THE Uchiha Itachi, kiss Higurashi Kagome! But then someone had to interrupt…

"Sasuke," Sakura began and she stared at her husband with a cold expression "Sometimes I really hate you."

"Hn."

* * *

The next memory that they saw was in the night.

But Konoha was lighted up with thousands of small coloured lights and stalls were set up in the streets. The stalls sold food like octopus and squid and also items like decorated masks. Some stalls even had games like fishing with a net made of paper. People were walking around in yukata and Sakura spotted a lot of children snacking on ice cream.

She recognized this; it was the Summer Festival that Konoha held every year.

"Look there," Sasuke pointed and both she and Kakashi turned their heads towards the direction he was pointing in. Kagome still looked the same age she did in the previous memory. She was dressed in a blue yukata that complimented the colour of her eyes. Her long hair was tied up in a bun at the back of her head and her wooden clogs scraped against the ground as she walked. A bright smile adorned her lips as she snacked on her dango and her eyes were lit up in wonder at the sights and smells of the festival.

Itachi walked beside her and he was dressed in a plain dark coloured yukata that suited him just nicely. His long hair was tied in a low ponytail in his usual style and he was also wearing wooden clogs. He was snacking on a dango, no doubt bought from the same stall as Kagome.

Kagome's smile grew even wider as she spotted two familiar faces in the crowd.

"Kakashi! Rin!" she called out, hoping they would hear her despite the loud noises of the festival. To her surprise, Kakashi paused and turned around. He smiled behind his mask when he saw her and soon Rin turned around as well. A bright smile appeared on her face when they spotted the raven haired girl. Rin was dressed in a purple yukata with her shoulder length brown hair tied in a bun. Kakashi was dressed in a dark coloured yukata that made his silver hair stand out even more. Rin was wearing wooden clogs while Kakashi wore woven slippers.

"Kagome-chan!" Rin greeted happily as they made their way towards her.

Sakura watched as the four of them conversed for a moment before they decided to travel around the festival together. Rin and Kagome dragged Itachi and Kakashi around the various stalls, and at first the two men looked slightly uncomfortable at all the noises and activity, but after a while they finally succumbed to the joys of the festival and they started having some fun. Kagome roped Kakashi and Itachi to play some of the games with her and Sakura watched with amusement at the silent competition the Uchiha and the Hatake seemed to be having.

They competed in fishing with the paper nets, throwing balls at the target to earn a prize and much, much more. Itachi had even won a large stuffed bear from throwing a ball and successfully knocking down a stack of cans with precise accuracy. And he had so graciously given the bear to Kagome, who accepted with a light blush on her cheeks.

Sakura thought she saw 19 year old Kakashi give the young Uchiha a subtle glare. But perhaps she was mistaken.

By the near end of the festival, the four of them made their way to the park for some quiet time before the fireworks would be fired. Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi trailed after them and they stood a few feet away from the four teenagers, who now sat on a patch of grass in the deserted park. Rin sat next to Kakashi, who sat next to Kagome, who in turn sat next to Itachi.

"That was so much fun!" Kagome announced breathlessly, her cheeks flushed. Rin nodded happily as she fanned herself.

"Yeah, lets all spend the festival together again next year!" she said with a smile and turned to Itachi and Kakashi "Is it all right with you two?" she asked and Itachi smiled politely back at her, without the usual iciness in his eyes that Sakura had seen him give Kakashi.

"It shouldn't be a problem," he replied calmly.

"Kakashi?" Rin asked, her eyes never leaving the silver haired man.

"…Okay," he agreed after a moment's contemplation. It was then that fireworks started to light up the sky. Kagome watched in wonder at the colours and shapes that the fireworks took. Despite seeing them every year, she never got tired of it. Soon she felt a hand slowly interlock with hers and she closed her fingers around the hand. Then she turned to the Uchiha who had grabbed her hand and smiled brightly at him, not really taking note of the way his cheeks turned slightly red. She thought that it was because of the light from the fireworks falling on his pale skin.

She didn't realize he was actually blushing.

Sakura watched the scene with her heartbeat growing steadily faster. Uchiha's were never known for public displays of affection, and yet here was an Uchiha holding hands with a girl. Sakura looked around and she realized that it couldn't really be considered a public display of affection; there was no one else around besides them.

A frown marred her features when she looked to the silver haired man beside Kagome and noticed that he was holding hands with his brown haired teammate.

She turned to her ex-sensei, bent on questioning him about this but all thoughts escaped her mind when Sasuke wrapped his hand around her waist, pulling her close to him. She struggled a bit at first trying to break free, but soon she succumbed to his touch and her hand travelled around his waist as well. Her face pressed against his warm chest and a mild blush formed on her cheeks when she felt the heat her husband's body seemed to radiate. Sasuke's body felt like a burning furnace.

"I love you," he whispered down to her and despite the loud noises from the fireworks, Sakura heard him.

Her green eyes widened in surprise for a moment before she snuggled deeper against her husband. Sakura realized she could never hate this man. Even if he broke her heart or stepped on her feelings or even when he tried to kill her, she could never hate him.

Because she loved him.

Simple as that.

* * *

Kakashi glanced discreetly in the direction of where Sasuke and Sakura were standing at and he sighed softly to himself before looking away. It had been quite some time since the fireworks came to an end and the couple was still tangled in each other's arms, not willing to separate. At first when he saw them hugging, Kakashi didn't want to play gooseberry to them so he stood quite a distance away from them, much preferring to focus on Kagome and Rin.

But he had to admit after a while; it was starting to get a little uncomfortable for him.

Don't get him wrong; he was very happy that his two ex-students had managed to make up with each other, but right now the only thing he was interested in finding out was why Kagome behaved like that to him in the hospital room. He was anxious to know why she rejected and refused him.

Kakashi cleared his throat softly and he was rather pleased to see Sakura jump away from her husband, a small blush on her cheeks.

"Sorry sensei," she apologized, referring him to sensei purely out of habit. She felt like she was the little girl on Team 7 again, and that she was apologizing to Kakashi because she had messed up on one of the techniques that he had tried to teach her.

"Tch," Sasuke grumbled as he eyed Kakashi in a displeased way, obviously unhappy with the interruption.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck slowly and smiled back apologetically to the couple but Sasuke crossed his arms in response. Then he flicked his head to the opposite direction of where Kakashi was standing with another sound of "Hn." He simply refused to look at his ex-sensei; he was the man who had interrupted his much enjoyed time with Sakura. And in return Sakura could only smile with amusement at her husband's dare she say it… childish behaviour to all this.

"Come on Sasuke, I want to see what happens next," she urged him and Sasuke sighed softly.

The scenery at the park faded around them and Sakura found herself standing in an unfamiliar place. She was in a clearing. There were trees all around them and on some of the trees there were small targets. She could also hear the distinct sound of water running so they had to be near a stream.

She could also hear the soft melody of the birds chirping in the air and when Sakura looked up she gasped softly in surprise.

There were several openings in the canopy of trees above them, but that wasn't the part that made her gasp. No it was the way the sun shone through the openings in the canopy that made it special. Not all the sunlight penetrated through the canopy and so the light was dimmer, but this seemed to make the place glow.

It made the clearing seem like something out of a fairytale.

"Where is this place? Is this even in Konoha?" she asked aloud in wonder. Sasuke took a calm look around before he replied "Yes… it's in Konoha." His eyes fell on the floor "Kagome told me that…this was hers and Itachi's special place. Itachi discovered it when he was returning home from a mission back then and so he brought her here. They kept this place a secret from everyone and they would come here together sometimes to get away from it all."

Sakura's eyes softened at the mention of that and but soon she frowned in confusion. Questions had started to pile up in her mind based on what she had seen so far.

Questions mainly concerning Kagome, Kakashi and last but not least…Itachi.

Sakura had always thought that Kagome loved Kakashi from the way the young girl acted around him. But then after seeing Kagome's interactions with Itachi and the special bond that the two shared, she was starting to have second thoughts.

So exactly who did Kagome love?

Did she love Kakashi?

Or did she love Itachi?

"Sasuke," she called uncertainly, making her husband look straight at her. "About Kagome…" her voice trailed off, "I don't really understand. What exactly was her relationship with your brother? The way they've been acting makes them seem more like _lovers _than just friends."

He paused in thought at her question. "Hmm…"

After a few seconds more he broke out into a mysterious smile which quite frankly unnerved her because she wasn't used to her husband smiling _this_ much in a day. "I suppose their behaviour now does seem that way…" he mused to himself before he finally looked at her. "And if I said they were?" he asked her, and at Sakura's confused expression he continued "Lovers, I mean. If I said they were lovers, would that bother you?"

"No… but…" and her eyes flickered over to Kakashi.

Sasuke noticed this, and he smiled wryly. "There's nothing to be worried about Sakura. Kakashi is well aware that Itachi has an irreplaceable place in Kagome's heart, just as Kagome is aware of the special place Rin holds in his heart. Just watch and you'll understand," he instructed.

"Okay…" she agreed uncertainly, and her eyes glanced around the clearing, trying to find where Kagome was.

I mean, this scene was part of Kagome's memories right? So Sakura was sure that the raven haired female had to be around here somewhere. She finally spotted Kagome sitting in the shade under the trees at the corner of the clearing.

But she wasn't alone.

Itachi was sitting back to back with her.

He was sitting cross legged on the grass, studying some scroll in his arms with a look on concentration on his face. On further inspection Sakura could see that the scrolls contained information on a number of Fire Jutsu. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and spared a glance at her husband.

Even if Sasuke always vehemently denied it, he and his brother were really alike.

Kagome on the other hand was busy fiddling with something in her hands. She was holding on to some sort of string which was coated in some smooth black plastic in one hand, and she was tying a circular sort of metal to it in her other hand.

"Itachi," Kagome called out quietly, not stopping from her work.

The Uchiha heir didn't pause or look up from his scrolls and Sakura wasn't sure if he had heard the raven haired girl. But Kagome continued to speak despite the lack of response. "I was wondering… if I should confess to Kakashi…"

There was silence for a few moments before Itachi spoke. "Do you want him to know of your feelings for him…?"

Kagome nodded slowly and Sakura listened to her answer with rapt attention. "…I do. I don't want him to see me as a child anymore. I don't want to be 'that little girl' in his eyes anymore… I… I've always had those feelings for him…always…even when I was a child. But I couldn't tell him then…because I knew he would brush them away; he would say that it was only a schoolgirl's crush. But I know it isn't, and my feelings haven't changed. Not one bit…"

Sakura couldn't help but sneak a glance at her ex-sensei; she wanted to see his reaction to all that Kagome had said. The silver haired man had a surprised look in his eye and Sakura watched with suspicion as his expression hardened.

What could he be thinking about that would cause that, she wondered.

"My 13th birthday is coming real soon, and I'll be a teenager, no a young _adult_, by then. So there's no way he can see me as a child anymore," Sakura heard Kagome say with a slight glee in her voice. She turned her attention back to the raven haired girl and the Uchiha.

Itachi had looked up from his scrolls, and looked to be deep in thought.

"I hope that Kakashi-san is able to make you happy," he said finally, "If he does not, then I say he has a score to settle with me…" _Because to me, your happiness is everything. Even if you don't love me the way I love you, I just want you to be happy. That's all I wish for._

Kagome turned around, momentarily surprised at his words.

"Itachi…" she breathed his name before she broke out into a smile. She hugged him from behind and the Uchiha found it difficult to maintain an expressionless emotion on his face because he could feel Kagome's developing cleavage press against his back. But all thoughts were pushed away from his mind when Kagome held out something in front of him. It was a necklace, with string coated with smooth black plastic. And at different parts of the necklace, there were three metal rings.

Sakura realized it was the item that Kagome had been making just now.

"This is for you," Kagome said with a smile, and with that said, she bent down and pressed a chaste kiss to the side of the Uchiha's cheek. Sakura and Sasuke watched with fond amusement as a cute blush formed on Itachi's face. The blush deepened when he felt Kagome's warm breath by his ear and his heart thundered in his chest at her next words.

"For always being there for me."

* * *

Thank you Sugar0o, XxKuragari no KagexX, Lady Favonian, kinky-kitsune, SnowBlizzard, mangalovah07, Kakashifangirlnumber1000, Kuronueslover, Stebba stud28, Reads-way-2-much, S3rrenity4193, Kagome Miko207, Sapphire Destiny Rose, Jacob's Reneesme, Binnybai, kakashixangela, Peaceful Dragon Rose, xXkitsune QueenXx, Crystal Tsuki Tenshi, cowgirlkitten2000, ILoveAnime89, JessicaAnnCowley, Animeislife, Shiori Mayonaka no Yume, tinabug, yunibell, Paint-In-Color, Dark Neko 4000, x0SilverFeathersx0, Lalala8121, alphaprincess0803, Elfgurl96 and fierynightangel for reviewing!

Wow that was a lot of reviews, and I apologize for taking such a long time for this chapter.

And there's a little announcement to make. Remember when I said previously that Itachi's love for Kagome was unrequited right? Well after making it this far into the story I can say that I'm going to change that.

Blame my fondness for Itachi which caused this change.

So yes now Kagome is going to be in love with both Itachi and Kakashi at the same time, but she doesn't realize that she loves Itachi yet. And *grins* Itachi's the one she's going to lose her virginity to. I assure you, she loves Itachi for Itachi and Kakashi for Kakashi. She's not using them as a substitute for the other.

Please review!


	14. Chapter 13

Love Actually

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 13

Sakura watched silently as Kagome handed Itachi the necklace she had made for him.

And when she stared at it in the Uchiha heir's hand, she felt a small sense of nostalgia; it was almost as if she had seen it somewhere before. She searched through her memories, trying to recall when and where she had seen it previously and she frowned in irritation when nothing came to her.

"What is it Sakura?" her husband asked, noticing her expression.

The pink haired medic looked at him before shifting her gaze back to the necklace in Itachi's hand again. "It's nothing…" she replied distractedly and the Uchiha rolled his eyes; Sakura may have not realized it but she could be such a horrible liar sometimes…

Sasuke crossed his arms and schooled on a serious expression.

"Sakura."

She looked at him for a moment before she sighed. "Fine…" she acquiesced and looked down to the ground. She toyed idly with the stones and leaves at her feet as she spoke, "It's just that… that necklace looks familiar somehow… I mean I feel like I've seen it before…but I can't remember where exactly…"

Sasuke cracked a small smile and he closed his eyes.

"Hmm…" he hummed thoughtfully, "Sakura, before I answer your question let me ask you this; have you ever met my brother before?"

She nodded, "Once, during our mission to rescue Gaara from the Akatsuki."

Sasuke opened his eyes and looked at her. Black met with green. "Then do you remember what he was wearing?"

She blinked. "What?"

"Just answer my question."

"Okay…" she paused and tried to remember. Hazy images of an adult Itachi came to her mind. "…He had on a slashed Hitae-ate, and he was wearing the Akatsuki cloak with sandals. But because of the cloak, I couldn't see what clothes he had underneath."

"Was he wearing any accessories?"

She frowned as more blurred images appeared in her mind. "Just a ring and the necklace around his…oh…" she paused and the image of the necklace she had seen in the teenaged Itachi's hand was now around the adult Itachi's neck. Her green eyes widened in realization and she now looked as if she had struck the grand prize in the lottery.

"OH!" she repeated, only louder this time.

Sasuke looked away, trying to hide his amusement at her child-like reaction.

"He kept it after all those years?" She couldn't hide the amazement in her voice and focused her gaze on Itachi, who was now putting on the necklace with an excited Kagome helping him out. "That's kind of sweet… and romantic actually."

She turned to look at Sasuke. "It must have been really precious to him…" her voice trailed off softly.

Sasuke's amused expression slowly faded, and was replaced with another. His face now looked completely neutral and one might have been fooled into thinking he was perfectly fine. Even Sakura would have been one of those fooled had she not looked at his eyes.

They looked sad…so very sad.

It took all of Sakura's willpower not to throw her arms around Sasuke; because she was perfectly aware of that her husband was not a touchy-feely kind of guy. He wouldn't appreciate the comfort. But… she bit her inner lip; he really looked like he needed it right now.

_Ah screw it_, she thought stubbornly.

"Sasuke?" she called out his name in a concerned tone, "Are you all right?" then she watched carefully in silence as his obsidian eyes hardened. He took a deep breath and took a moment to compose himself, before he turned to face them fully.

"Time to move on," he said softly, before the world faded around them.

* * *

They were in Kakashi's apartment again.

And even though the years had passed Sakura noticed that not much had changed within the sparse apartment. It was still tidy; that was for sure. And the little furniture that he had was the same as she had last seen them. The only thing that had changed, she noticed, was the addition of the new Icha Icha Paradise book on the shelf. The sound of the door opening snapped her out of her reverie and she focused her attention on the two new occupants that had entered the room.

And she almost laughed aloud at the sight that greeted her. Almost.

Kakashi, or the person that she assumed to be Kakashi, had his arms stacked so high with groceries that it obscured his face. Well they never did see his face because he was always wearing his mask but you get the idea. Kagome followed in after him carrying absolutely nothing and the raven haired girl looked as young as Sakura had last seen her; so it meant that not too much time had passed since the previous memory.

Anyway, as Kagome closed the door, Kakashi dumped his groceries unceremoniously on the bed.

"Remind me again why I'm getting this much stuff?" he questioned dryly as he wiped off a bead of sweat that had formed on his exposed skin. "Because you need to get nutrition from some healthy food, and what's healthier than a warm home cooked meal?" she quipped back.

"I eat healthy," the silver haired man protested and Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Eating nothing but instant noodles for the past couple of months is _not_ healthy. I'm actually surprised you haven't lost all your hair from the amount of MSG you've been consuming," she replied in a tone just as dry and Kakashi grumbled something unintelligible under his breath.

"What did you say?" Kagome asked whilst she unloaded his groceries.

"I said that for a girl as young as you, you sure act like my mother sometimes," he grumbled again, this time louder in tone. Sakura noticed that Kagome momentarily froze up at his statement but it was as quick as it was gone. She resumed her task of unpacking the groceries and Sakura heard her quiet voice echo throughout the room.

"I thought you said that you didn't remember your mother…"

Kakashi paused, "I don't, but the way you're behaving right now is normally classified as 'motherly behaviour.'"

Kagome remained quiet as she continued to put away the groceries. Kakashi seemed content with the current silence in the apartment so he didn't break it and Sakura watched the two of them as they worked.

"Kakashi…" Kagome finally spoke, albeit quietly, "…What am I to you?"

"Hmm…" the Ninja hummed thoughtfully as he handed her a carton of milk. "You're one of the most important people in my life Kagome, and I couldn't possibly imagine it without you."

Sakura watched silently as a bright smile appeared on Kagome's face, but the smile faded just as quickly as it came with the Copy Ninja's next words. "You're like the cute little sister I always wanted but never got, what, with my mother's untimely death and all," he said with a casual shrug, not noticing Kagome freeze and the flash of hurt that appeared in her eyes.

"So…I'm just a sister to you?" the raven-haired girl questioned him, and he nodded, not knowing how deeply his answer affected her. "…Kakashi…do you think that in the future…I could be more than just a sister to you?" she asked again.

He paused in his work and furrowed his eyebrow in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Her voice was quiet. "Do you think you could love me?"

Kakashi opened his mouth to reply that he did love her, but Kagome cut him off, "Not love in the way friends and siblings do, but in the way lovers do…" His visible eye widened slightly at that statement.

"Kakashi, do you think that you could fall in love with me?"

"Why would you ask that?" he asked, slightly bewildered.

"Because I'm in love with you," she admitted, looking straight into his eye and Sakura, who had been watching their conversation with rapt attention, chewed her lower lip in anticipation. "I've been in love with you for a long time now, ever since I was a little girl." Kagome continued to look at Kakashi, and while her eyes were serious, Sakura could also see the fear in them.

Kagome was afraid; she was so very afraid that Kakashi would reject her.

The two continued to stare at each other in silence; one with trepidation and the other with an unnerving aloofness. After a while more Kakashi broke his gaze and sighed tiredly, running a hand through his unruly hair. Both Sakura and Kagome's hopes fell at his behaviour; that was not a good sign.

"Kagome… you must be mistaken…" he began in a gentle voice.

"No I'm not!" she immediately protested but Kakashi continued on, as if he hadn't heard her answer, "I'm close to a decade older than you Kagome. You're still just a child, and girls your age usually develop crushes on boys. You don't know what love is yet so you're confusing it with…well… with something that's similar to love."

Kagome looked at him in anguish and Sakura was sure that her expression mirrored Kagome's own.

"What I feel for you isn't just a crush! I know its love! I'm not a child anymore Kakashi! I'm already 13, and when you were 13, you passed your Jounin exams!" she declared, frustration in her voice and Kakashi shook his head.

"That's different."

"Why? Why is that different?" she yelled and when he could not answer her she continued, "Please Kakashi, I know what I'm talking about. I love you - please don't look away from me like that, I _love_ you, and I know you don't believe me, but I really do…"

Sakura felt herself close to tears once she saw the expression Kakashi was giving Kagome.

Even though his face was masked, Sakura could still see the coldness in Kakashi's eye as he looked down at the raven-haired girl. And if Sakura felt this horrible even though she was just a bystander, then she was sure that Kagome felt a million times worse.

"Look," Kakashi said impatiently, finally frustrated by the girl's stubbornness, "I didn't want to say this before until our relationship was more stable, but I already have a girlfriend okay? I've been seeing Rin for close to a month now."

But he softened his tone when he saw Kagome's eyes well up with tears.

"You understand now Kagome? A relationship between you and me… is just impossible. I'm too old for you. You're too young for me. I'm a Ninja. You're a civilian. I don't think I can see you as anything more than a little sister," he paused for a moment and spoke his next words slowly, "Also… I love Rin. I didn't love her in the beginning… but I love her now, and I don't think I'll ever want to leave her."

The tender look on his face as he said that almost made her burst out crying then and there.

"…I understand…" Kagome finally replied him in a heavy voice, "…And I wish you and Rin the best in your relationship…"

With that said, she walked as calmly as she could to the door and left. But Sakura could hear the loud thumping of feet running down the staircase, and she watched from the window as Kagome ran out of the apartment block and onto the streets. She could also faintly make out the glistening of tears trailing down the girl's cheeks.

Sakura fisted her palms.

How could Kakashi treat her like that? The younger girl had loved him, truly and deeply loved him, for such a long time! Then today she had gathered her courage and finally confessed to him! Yet what the hell did Kakashi do to her?

He had done the three worst things a guy could do in that situation.

He had not only cruelly rejected her, claiming that her feelings were untrue, and Sakura could certainly see that Kagome's feelings for him were far from 'untrue'. But Kakashi had also told her that she was no more than a sister to him, which was even crueller, because that was like saying he loved her, but not in the way she wanted him to. And the last unforgivable thing he had done was to tell her that he already had a girlfriend, who happened to a good friend of Kagome's as well.

In short, Kakashi had taken Kagome's heart, stepped on it before finally ripping it to shreds.

Sakura briefly wondered how in the seven hells Kakashi even managed to talk to Kagome in the future, much less sleep with her. Because if Sakura had been in Kagome's position, she didn't think she would ever speak to him again.

And speaking of Kakashi…

Sakura was positively infuriated at him for his insensitivity towards Kagome. She turned away from the window and opened her mouth, ready to rail at the adult Kakashi. But when her eyes landed on the two Kakashi, no words came out and she instead shut her mouth again.

The older Kakashi was staring at the door that Kagome had left wide open in her wake with something akin to regret in his exposed eye. His fists were clenched at his side so tightly that his hands shook and his knuckles turned white. The younger Kakashi's movements mirrored the adult's, but the only difference, Sakura realized with a dull pang, was that the younger Kakashi didn't look the least bit sorry for what he had done.

Instead, he merely exhaled deeply before making his way to close the door.

'_What. An. Ass!_' Sakura growled in her mind.

"I'll take you both to where Kagome is going," Sasuke's quiet voice cut through the air and Sakura raised her brow at him in slight confusion. Did her husband mean to tell her that there was still more to this… horrible memory? But what more could there be?

Sakura didn't have the time to ask him before the background around them swirled again.

* * *

Flowers.

Millions and millions of flowers. Stretching as far as the eye could see…

When the next memory had appeared, Sakura found herself standing in a field full of nothing but bright, beautifully coloured flowers. And when the wind blew, the petals from those flowers rose up in the air, creating a very beautiful effect.

Sakura was rendered speechless.

And while she wanted to do nothing more than to stand in the field and admire the flowers, there was this little voice in the back of her mind nagging; telling her that she had been here before. But Sakura was sure that this was her first time here, because she certainly would have remembered seeing something like _this_ previously.

Unless… it couldn't be…

She turned to the Uchiha that was standing beside her. "Sasuke…" she hesitated, "Is this Minato-san's and Kushina-san's gravesite?"

He blinked, "I'm surprised you could actually recognise it."

Sakura huffed in response. "What's that supposed to mean?" she grumbled inaudibly but her annoyance vanished when it finally occurred to her. If they were here, then it meant… "Kagome came here after _that_?"

Sasuke nodded, before pointing, "There she is."

Sakura's eyes followed the direction that he was pointing in and her heart gave a painful squeeze when she spotted the raven haired girl standing in front of the two graves. Kagome's eyes were red and puffy as she stared at the mound that marked where Minato was buried, and the tear tracks on her cheeks were glistening under the glare of the sun.

"It's no use Minato-san," she said with a pathetic sniffle, "No matter how much I love Kakashi, he won't ever feel the same for me."

Sakura briefly glanced at her ex-sensei that was standing not too far away from where she was, and inwardly she felt slightly pleased when she saw how tormented he looked. But then she shook her head and gently chided herself; it wasn't her place to judge Kakashi, it was Kagome's…

And since Kagome and Kakashi were still friends with each other in the future, it meant that they had made up…right?

She turned back to Kagome when she heard the teenager speaking again. "After today Minato-san… I don't know whether I'll still be able to keep our promise. Loving him _hurts_… It hurts so much…" she choked, before using the back of her hand to rub away the tears that had formed again.

_The Kyuubi was finally defeated. Konoha was victorious. _

_But…_

_Minato-san was dying… he was _dying_ and she could do nothing to save him…just like how she could do nothing to save Kushina-san…_

_Kagome's heart gave a painful tug at the thought of that. What good was she? She couldn't even protect her precious people… Vaguely, she was aware that Minato had said something to Kakashi, and when it was her turn, he squeezed her hand gently. _

_She snapped out of her thoughts and saw Minato's mouth moving, but she could barely hear him. _

_He looked so fragile at that moment that she thought she would burst out in tears. It was really happening, wasn't it? Minato really was dying, wasn't he? She moved closer until her ear was right beside Minato's mouth, and it was then that she heard the fated words._

_"Kagome-chan… even though Kakashi is…well… Kakashi… you'll continue loving him right?"_

_The young girl's eyes widened in surprise and she immediately moved her head back to stare at the man. How did he know…? Minato was smiling tiredly at her and the tender look in his blue eyes was genuine. Kagome knew then and there that he meant what he had asked of her. So, with tears streaming down her cheeks, she nodded._

_And thus dawned the promise from her to a dying man…_

"What's the point in loving him?" Kagome yelled at the grave, which unsurprisingly, wasn't going to answer her back.

"There's no point in loving Kakashi when all he'll ever see me as is a sister… There's no point in loving him when he already loves someone else… No point in loving him when all it ever does is bring me pain… No point… No point at all…" She slowly sank to her knees in front of the two graves and pressed her palms to her face, as if the action would somehow stop the tears from flowing.

It didn't.

Just as time continued moving forward, tears continued pouring down her cheeks without any indication of stopping and the sobs that escaped her lips were so loud that they wracked her small frame.

From afar, Sakura eyed the young girl with something that might have been mistaken as sympathy. Only it wasn't.

It was empathy.

Because once upon a time, Sakura had been Kagome's age. And it was at that age when she had got her heart broken. Although Sakura didn't love Sasuke as long a period as Kagome had loved Kakashi, it didn't mean that the pain would be any less.

Heartbreak was heartbreak, no matter the circumstances in which it was caused.

"So what happens now…?" Sakura spoke up softly. And the question may have seemed harsh; as if Sakura had asked it because she was bored with seeing Kagome cry. But it wasn't. When Sakura had asked it, she honestly meant no malice, nor did she intend to come off as cruel. It was just resigned curiosity. She couldn't help but be curious as to how Kagome was going to handle this heartbreak.

Was she going to handle it like Sakura had handled her own? Or was she going to continue to cry and mope some more?

Sasuke's eyes slowly moved over from Kagome's crying form, and he stared at Sakura with his piercing eyes. The pink haired medic tried not to flinch under his gaze and it seemed apparent to her that Sasuke had also mistaken the true purpose of her question.

"… She dried her tears and got over it."

Apparently she was wrong.

"And… Kakashi?" Sakura asked again, this time looking at the still form of their ex-sensei. He was standing only a few metres away from Kagome, and the pink haired medic noticed that while his hand was at his side, it kept moving up and down slightly. It was almost as if the man wanted to reach out to Kagome, but always managed to stop himself before he could.

Sasuke's voice barely concealed his rage. "Avoided her like the plague."

This time, Sakura did flinch. '_Okay,_' she thought, mentally slapping herself, '_that had been a totally stupid question to ask._'

And when she said stupid, she did not mean stupid in a sense that it was fairly obvious what Kakashi's reaction would be like in the aftermath of the confession, because really, there were only two ways he could react. Either he could pretend that it never happened or he could avoid her altogether.

And the idiot just _had_ to choose the latter.

Anyway, as she was saying, it was stupid in a sense because as much as she didn't want to admit it, Sasuke obviously cared for Kagome, so what the heck was she doing asking him something about the raven haired woman that obviously angered him?

The pink haired medic looked to the ground, suddenly feeling a lot sadder.

Even though Sasuke claimed that he loved her, the bond he shared with Kagome was still too close in her opinion. Indeed, even Naruto wasn't as close to Sasuke as Kagome was; and the blond happened to be the Uchiha's best friend.

So why exactly were Sasuke and Kagome so close? What was it that tied the two together like that?

"Sakura?" her husband's soft voice cut through the air, startling her out of her thoughts. She raised her head to look at him and opened her mouth, attempting to reply. But she found her voice dying in her throat the moment her eyes met his.

'_Sasuke... Sasuke is... He..._'

He was looking at her differently. His usually passive face was gentle now, and the soulful expression that he had in his usually guarded dark eyes sent her heart racing and her mind reeling.

Why was he looking at her like that?

"Sakura?" he softly called her name again, and this time her mouth went dry. She swallowed with a bit of trouble and willed her raging heart to still. But she found her heart pounding even faster when his hand reached out to her and tenderly cupped the side of her face. She unconsciously leaned into his touch and almost whimpered when he retracted his hand.

She tried to answer but her tongue simply wouldn't form the words that she wanted to say. "Uwaah?"

Sasuke cracked a small smile at that and while Sakura should have felt embarrassed by her behaviour, on the contrary she wasn't. In fact, Sakura couldn't find it in her to be embarrassed. Because of the emotions she could see in Sasuke's eyes as he looked at her.

_Fondness. __Love__. That was what it was._

Her eyes widened slightly and her mouth parted in shock. In seeing her expression, Sasuke's smile faded and the moment between them was broken. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked to the side, the slightest hint of a blush tainting his cheeks.

Before Sakura could say anything to him, the scene around them swirled.

* * *

For a moment, it was rather disorienting. And when the background stopped swirling, Sakura realized that they were standing near the koi pond in the backyard of Sasuke's house again. But instead of seeing Kagome anywhere, she could only see Itachi sitting out on the porch. And while his gaze was trained on the full moon in the night sky, Sakura could see that his eyes were unseeing.

"He's just been given his mission," Sasuke intoned softly, yet Sakura was able to detect the pain and anger in his tone.

She reached out to him, but Sasuke turned away. He didn't want her comfort or her pity. He just wanted to be left alone. So she didn't say anything. She didn't even ask him which mission he was referring to. She knew.

A moment later, she turned back to see Itachi looking down at his hands.

He clenched and unclenched his fists so hard that his nails drew blood. But Itachi didn't seem to notice the pain. He merely tilted his head towards the koi pond to his left, and Sakura almost gasped aloud at the expression he had on his normally reserved face.

Mere words alone could not describe the sheer amount of pain she saw on his face.

Sakura's heart went out to him because while she was aware of how conflicted he was, she could not presume to understand exactly what he was feeling. Torn between the choice of his loyalty to the village or his loyalty to his family.

If Sakura had been in the same situation as Itachi, she honestly wasn't sure which option she would have picked.

A creaking sound snapped both Sakura and Itachi out of their respective thoughts and they looked to the source of the noise – the backdoor of the Uchiha Compound – their senses on high alert. When Sakura looked back to Itachi, she was astounded to see that his facial expression was neutral again, completely betraying no signs of the previous distress she had seen on it moments before.

"Who's there?" Itachi asked calmly.

The backdoor creaked even more as it opened, and a shadowy figure stepped through. As Itachi watched the intruder, his hand stealthily moved in the direction of his back-pouch, and as he thumbed open the flap to draw a kunai, the intruder stepped into the light.

Kagome.

Itachi's hand stilled.

"Ah, sorry for startling you Itachi," Kagome smiled tiredly.

The Uchiha didn't appear to have heard her. Instead, as he looked at her, shock and anger slowly appeared on his face. Sakura couldn't blame him. Kagome looked as if she had aged several decades since Sakura had last seen in Kakashi's apartment.

Her eyes were rimmed red from crying and the dried tear tracks on her cheeks were visible in the moonlight.

Though Kagome was smiling, even Sakura could see that her smile wasn't genuine so she was sure that Itachi – who had known her ever since she was young – would not be fooled. And her eyes…

Her normally bright blue eyes were dull. They looked sad. Jaded. Broken.

"Itachi?" Kagome called his name.

There was only one thing that could cause Kagome this much pain in this short of a time. And Itachi knew perfectly well what, or more specifically, who.

"Itachi, you listening to me?" She was walking to him now.

"I'll kill him," Itachi said simply.

Kagome stopped in her tracks and she looked at him with wide eyes. "W-what?" she choked out.

"I'll kill him," he repeated more slowly this time, and made his way towards the backdoor. When he walked past Kagome, she didn't immediately react and as he got a few steps away from her, he felt her grab his arm.

"Let go." His voice was calm.

"No." Her voice was quiet, determined, and just as calm. Itachi grit his teeth in annoyance and jerked his arm out of her grip. Before he even started to take another step, he felt her arms wrap around his waist from behind.

"Don't."

Itachi fisted his palms. "Why not?" he yelled out in anger. Normally he would not lose control over his emotions like this but tonight had been an emotional roller-coaster ride for him already. First with the orders to kill his family, and now with the girl he was in love with getting her heart broken by some fucking bastard.

"He hurt you damn it!" He continued to yell. "Look at you! You're an emotional wreck because of him! So why can't I make him pay? Why can't I hurt him back?"

After he got that out of his chest, Itachi said no more. Instead, he continued to pant and heave with anger. He wanted to make Kakashi pay in the worst way possible. He wanted the man's innards on a stick. He wanted to hurt him just as badly as the man had hurt Kagome, if not worse.

"Don't. _Please_." She was trembling, and her voice sounded thick with tears.

Itachi's rage evaporated in an instant when he realized she was crying again and he felt the tension drain out of his body. What right, did _he_, have to hold a grudge against Hatake Kakashi when Kagome herself did not?

Because she was his best friend? Because he loved her? Because she was the person he cared most for in the world?

Itachi had no right. And he knew that.

But even though he did not have a right, Uchiha Itachi would always hate Hatake Kakashi. Always.

"All right," he said softly, "I won't."

"Thank you." He felt her arms retract from his waist and he heard a thump as her knees hit the ground behind him. Itachi turned around and looked down at the sobbing girl on her knees before him. He knelt down quietly in front of her, and gathered her in his arms. She clung to him like a lifeline, refusing to let go. Her sobs grew in volume, and Itachi found his hand running up and down her back in an effort to calm her down.

"Shh… I've got you now. Don't cry Kagome… Don't cry…"

Her sobs refused to quieten, but Itachi wouldn't be deterred. He started humming a lullaby his mother had sang to him when he was still very small, and after a while Kagome's crying died down. He continued to hum though, and it was not soon after that Kagome's breathing evened out.

She had fallen asleep in his arms.

Itachi gazed at her sleeping face and was mildly pleased to see that it looked peaceful now; the pain that he had previously seen on it was gone. He gently stroked her hair, and Sakura felt her heart warm at the sweet gesture.

_He really does love her,_ she thought with slight amazement.

From what she had seen of Kagome and Itachi, they would have made a great couple. But… Sakura's amazement turned to sadness. Even if they did end up together in the memories, Itachi was going to die. In fact, he had already been dead for over 4 years.

'_Kagome must have been devastated…_' she thought sadly.

Indeed, when Kagome and Sasuke had returned to Konoha 4 years ago, Kagome back then had not been that different with the current Kagome. The only difference that Sakura had really noticed about Kagome was the inexplicable sadness lurking behind her eyes.

Back then, Sakura didn't understand. But now, she did.

Itachi had died. And Kagome had been grieving.

And although Sakura saw that the Kagome she knew didn't constantly have that sadness about her anymore, there were moments – just moments – when something, a type of food, a name, a place, an action, anything really, would remind her of Itachi and she would smile that sad smile, her expression brimming with nostalgia.

"She did love him," Sakura mumbled to herself, "I know she did."

But in what way?

Sakura turned back to look at them when she saw movement from the corner of her eye. Itachi had stood up with Kagome still sleeping in his arms, and he smoothly walked across the gardens and onto the elevated corridors.

She didn't stir.

"Come on," Sasuke said simply, and together the trio followed Itachi through the compound.

The Uchiha carried the girl to her room and gently laid her on the bed. He tucked the covers around her before he moved to get up. But he stopped to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Then, he leaned in and placed a tender kiss on her forehead.

"Sweet dreams," he breathed, before getting up and exiting her room quietly.

As Itachi walked down the hallway to his room, he had an epiphany. In fact, it was so huge of an epiphany that it caused him to stop dead in his tracks. It was so big of a revelation that it would change his life forever.

Uchiha Itachi had realized that though it destroyed him, he could and he would be able to kill his clan for the sake of the mission.

He had realized that he would be able to kill his family for the sake of the mission.

But, he had realized that he would not be able to kill Kagome for the sake of the mission. He could not kill her. He loved her. He would rather die than kill her. He would rather die if it meant she could live.

The Uchiha slowly sank to his knees and drew a deep, shuddering breath.

He had made his choice.

He would accept the mission.

He would exterminate his clan, and ihs family

But, he would not kill Kagome.

He would spare her.

He would leave her.

And hopefully, after it all, she would not end up hating him for his actions.

Itachi let out a mirthless laugh. Oh who was he kidding? It was plain and simple.

He. Was. Screwed.

End Chapter

* * *

Thank you Sugar0o, Brunette Geek, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Demonic Cho, Stebba stud28, wolfkagome, Shado Kitsune, Lalala8121, eloquent dreams, kakashixangela, meow, S3rrenity4193, HaHaHa, Plain Ole' Renee, Sinfath, Reads-way-2-much, Lady InuIzayoi, lady-kira6606, Lady Manami, Kagome Miko207, betstar, Kuronueslover17, o0KittyBlue0o, I See Dead Animals, Ninjaru, onlyluna, Thyme Spirit, RHtach89, Sesshome 4Ever, chibi-heart-sick, Speedykitten1643, twilightrose07 and xXxRainxXxDancerxXx for reviewing!

*waves* Uh... hi? Remember me?

A thousand apologies won't make up for the long while between updates. But still, I'm sorry for taking such a long time.

Life happened. I got my 'O' level results, entered Polytechnic, got a lot of damned projects, thad one hell of a writer's block for all my Inuyasha/Naruto crossovers (And the writer's block is still ongoing, by the way...) I was stuck with the confession scene for the longest time...

Anyway, the muse struck me today and I managed to churn the chapter but I don't think it's that good. Please tell me what you think, if I haven't already lost all of my readers yet...

Please review!


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